


A Whole Castle

by Ayri



Series: One Shots, Mini-fics, Prompts [1]
Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Brotherly Affection, Brotherly Bonding, Brotherly Love, Bullying, Dramatic Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders, Dreams and Nightmares, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Family, Family Fluff, Fluff, Food, Hair Dyeing, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Kid Morality | Patton Sanders, Kids playing with Chemicals, Logince - Freeform, M/M, Married Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders/Logic | Logan Sanders, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Morality | Patton Sanders Needs a Hug, Mostly Wholesome, Needles, Nervous children, Panic Attacks, Parent Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders, Parent Logic | Logan Sanders, Past Child Abuse, Protective Anxiety | Virgil Sanders, Protective Older Brothers, Romantic Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders/Logic | Logan Sanders, Sassy Anxiety | Virgil Sanders, Sleep, Teenage Anxiety | Virgil Sanders, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Uncle Sleep | Remy Sanders, soft
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-27
Updated: 2021-02-07
Packaged: 2021-03-02 20:28:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 17
Words: 32,078
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24402835
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ayri/pseuds/Ayri
Summary: Patton comes from aless than comfortablehome and is now being fostered by the Sanders family. How will Patton react when he moves from a hard place to a nice one? How will adopted new older-brother Virgil deal? Will Roman and Logan be prepared to give Patton things he needs to grow up? Will Patton be able to make friends even though he's developmentally stunted?Mini-fics with Kid!Patton & Teen!Virgil adopted by Logince led by asks on my tumblr or comments on the fic + me going rogue sometimes. Mostly sweet fluffy hurt/comfort family content.
Relationships: Anxiety | Virgil Sanders & Deceit | Janus Sanders, Anxiety | Virgil Sanders & Morality | Patton Sanders, Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders/Logic | Logan Sanders, Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders & Morality | Patton Sanders
Series: One Shots, Mini-fics, Prompts [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1749934
Comments: 389
Kudos: 463





	1. A Good Foundation

**Author's Note:**

> Tags will update as released. Basically a choose your own adventure as the chapters are all prompts received over on my Tumblr. [@onthevirgeofdestruction](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/onthevirgeofdestruction/)  
>  if you'd like to submit a prompt to my askbox to see more. You can also just leave a comment with a question or a prompt if you like!
> 
> ♪ [A Whole Castle Playlist](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4Hi79aO3SrlLHzBUzcwyy8?si=4y-7Iw5aRLa1cCT9o7ZSOQ) ♪

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Patton is coloring at the kitchen table and Logan joins him.

“What are you doing, Patton?” Logan leaned down and looked at Patton’s colorful page and crayons that had sprawled slightly across the kitchen table.

“I, uh, I’m _sorry_ , I’ll clean up,” Patton said meekly and started picking up his crayons dourly and frowning.

“I did not intend to make you stop, I was just curious what had you so absorbed,” Logan said plainly. “It’s okay to keep your things out. It’s hours until we need the table for dinner,” Logan smiled softly. Patton stared back at him disbelieving for a moment.

“Ya mean it?” Patton asked quietly, unable to keep the hope from springing free in his voice and heart.

“Of course. I just wanted to know what you were up to. Are you drawing? Would you mind if I looked at what you’re doing?” Logan asked brightly. Patton dropped his crayons back on the table and shook his tiny fists in delight.

“Yeah, I’m drawing a _friend_!” Patton grinned widely. He put his hands over the bright doodles. “It’s not _ready_ yet,”

“All right. If you want to show me when you’re done, just let me know. I’d be interested to hear about the friend you’re drawing,” Logan rubbed Patton’s shoulder gently and stood back up straight.

“You wanna see it? It’s prolly _dumb_ ,” Patton frowned and his posture slackened.

“I don’t think anyone would call a friend is ‘dumb’. I’d be happy to learn about them,” Logan said gently. Logan walked over to the counter and Patton’s eyes followed him, feeling kind of confused. “Would you like some juice?” Logan asked as he pulled a cup down from the cabinet.

“Is that _okay_? I didn’t do nothin’,” Patton asked, turning around in the dining chair and gripping the back of the chair while he looked at Logan.

“You don’t have to do anything to have some juice. We have grape and apple. Which would you like?” Logan asked, pulling another cup with a lid and a straw out of the cabinet.

“Grape!” Patton bounced slightly in excitement.

“Be mindful you don’t jump, Patton, you could fall,” Logan chided softly and went to the fridge to pull out the grape juice.

“Sorry,” Patton pouted and looked down the floor. Logan ruffled Patton’s hair, and he glanced back up.

“It’s okay to be excited as long as you're safe about it,” Logan said with a slight smirk and went to the counter to pour the juice out. Logan filled the lidded cup with grape juice and filled his glass with water before returning to the table. Patton watched him warily the whole time. He placed the lidded cup in front of Patton and the glass of water on the far end of the seat next to him.

“Are you gonna join me in drawin’?” Patton asked brightly.

“I’ll be mostly drawing red x’s, but yes,” Logan chuckled slightly and left the room again. Patton turned back to his drawing and was determined to make it amazing if Logan wanted to see it. He pulled out his favourite sky blue crayon and started coloring again ecstatically.

Logan returned with a stack of papers and a few red and black felt pens and pulled out the chair to take a seat next to Patton. He laid everything out evenly and lined up a stack of papers covered in pencil markings and math problems to the right of his grading rubric and answer guide. He started working diligently, marking out problems with a red felt pen and comments and grades in the black felt pen. Patton watched him curiously while he slipped his grape juice. It was super sweet and Patton swayed and kicked his legs cheerily as his eyes followed Logan’s red felt pens across the pages.

“Whatcha _doin’_? Can I ask?” Patton said, gripping his cup tight.

“I’m grading papers,” Logan didn’t look up as he wrote out a comment in black felt pen.

“But there're no _stickers_ ,” Patton said curiously, tilting his head.

“We don’t use stickers anymore in the grade I teach,” Logan chuckled slightly.

“But they’re my _favourite_ part of learning!” Patton objected.

“There are other parts that will be more fun in the future,” Logan said and looked up to give Patton a light smile before sipping his water.

“Like what?” Patton asked, kicking his legs and taking another sip of juice.

“The satisfaction of finding the correct conclusion on your own merit,” Logan said proudly.

“… What?” Patton furrowed his eyebrows and tried to figure out what Logan said.

“Knowing that every step you take is to a better you,” Logan said again.

“I dunno if I’m a _better me_ for knowing addition an’ subtraction,” Patton stuck his tongue out with distaste. Logan chuckled and shook his head.

“You know how when you want to build something tall with your blocks, you have to make a solid bottom or it will topple?” Logan explained, drawing out the concept on the backside of one of the pages he was grading and drawing an arrow to the base of a small tower.

“Yeah?” Patton said, watching the shapes with interest. Logan took a red pen and circled the bottom.

“Addition and subtraction and all those other things you’re learning in school right now are right here,” Logan tapped the bottom of tower illustration with the back of the pen. “And if you keep at it you can be as marvelous as a whole castle,”

“A w _hole_ castle?” Patton said brightly.

“The only thing fit for a prince such as yourself!” Roman called as he walked into the kitchen. He pat Patton on the head and Patton looked up curiously to Roman’s bright smile. “What are you two up to?” He asked as he came around to Logan and wrapped his arms around Logan’s shoulders to peer at what he’s doing.

“I’m grading and Patton is drawing a friend. He wants to finish the drawing before we look, so don’t be your usual nosy self,” Logan smiled and angled his head and pecked Roman on the check. Roman gasped dramatically and held his and to his head.

“I would _never_ ,” He objected emphatically, then tucked in his arms to spin on the tile floor. Patton watched Roman spin and got excited, clapping.

“I wanna _spin_!” Patton said brightly, holding up his arms.

“Of course, _anything_ for my prince!” Roman said and took a deep bow before plucking Patton out of the chair and holding him against his chest tightly before spinning around in the kitchen.

“Be _careful_ , love,” Logan said, sounding worried, watching them with a concerned expression.

“It’s okay to be excited if we’re safe!” Patton chimed back and held on to Roman tightly. Logan’s expression softened into a smile.

“That’s right, Patton,” Logan nodded and Patton squeaked in delight as Roman span him again.


	2. Mrs. Bunnyface

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Patton was bullied on the bus.

“Virgil!” Patton cried and ran into his older brother’s legs as soon as he got home, clenching his fits into Virgil’s jeans and wailing. Virgil held up his hands for a moment, not knowing what to do. He looked around desperately but saw Patton’s pitiful little shakes as he cried and knew hew had to fix it. He carefully pried Patton off his pants and leaned down to hold his shoulders. Patton was hunched in on himself and rubbed his nose on his sleeve while he kept bawling.

“Pat, what’s _wrong_?” Virgil asked, thrown between panic and concerned with the inexplicable desire to punch whoever made Patton cry.

“I took Mrs. Bunnyface to school because there was a mean person who kept making fun of my glasses. So I wann’ed something to _hug_. But when I opened my backpack on the bus, somebody saw her. And they made fun of her an' me, and they tried to _take_ her! But I woul’n’t leggo and they _tore off her ear_!” Patton sobbed again. Virgil briefly considered how much trouble he’d get in for punching a seven-year-old before pulling Patton in for a hug. Patton wrapped his arms around Virgil’s neck and whined, continuing to sob heavily. Virgil rubbed Patton’s back while he worked through the tears.

“Is Mrs. Bunnyface and her ear still in your backpack?” Virgil asked gently after Patton cried himself out a little more.

“Y-yeah,” Patton sniffled miserably and backed up to rub his nose on his sleeve again. Virgil picked up Patton and carried him into his bedroom, setting Patton down on his bed. Virgil grabbed the tissue box off of his desk and passed it over to Patton, who took a small wad and blew his nose. Virgil helped Patton out of his backpack and unzipped as he set in on the bed. When Virgil pulled the bunny with the missing ear out Patton made the most miserable noise Virgil had ever heard in his life.

“It’s okay, Patty, we can fix her,” Virgil offered sweetly, digging around in Patton’s bag for the loose ear.

“We _can_?” Patton sniffled, balling up his fists tightly on the end of his shirt and looking hopefully to Virgil.

“We can. She just needs some TLC. It won’t hurt her a bit,” Virgil nodded, finally finding the strip of fabric and grasping it to pull it out. Virgil inspected the end, and the fabric wasn’t too frayed. The ear would just be a little shorter on one side. “Why don’t you give her a hug and tell her she’ll be okay while I go get my supplies,” Virgil handed the doll over to Patton, who took the doll and squeezed her desperately.

“It’s gonna be okay Mrs. Bunnyface,” Patton muttered and Virgil rubbed Patton’s shoulder for a second to get up and dig in his closet for his sewing kit. He hadn’t needed it in a while. Virgil eventually found it in a shoebox of loose stuff and returned to sit on the bed next to Patton. Virgil picked up the detached ear and carefully tucked in the frayed part of the fabric and slid a pin out of the kit to pin it flat.

“Can I have Mrs. Bunnyface back?” Virgil asked softly as he pulled a small tan threaded bobbin to match her ear color as close as possible. Patton kissed the doll’s nose before nodding and handing it back. Virgil held the doll between his legs and threaded the needle quickly before pulling his legs up on the bed to hold her closer to him. He carefully slid the needle right at the fold of the fabric on the ear and ladder stitched the ear back on to the doll’s head, at the seam of the low-pile fur, as closely matching the other side as he could. Patton flinched and swallowed the first time he saw the needle go into her head, but Virgil gave him as reassuring a smile as he could possibly muster and he seemed to accept it.

“Is she _okay_?” Patton asked meekly. Virgil shifted his knees against each other to make the doll nod its head, and Patton looked enamored, making a tiny happy squeak. He still had the tear streaks down his face, but he finally didn’t look so miserable.

“Do you want to see something _cool_?” Virgil asked temptingly.

“Mm-hm,” Patton nodded, looking a little concerned. Virgil pulled the needle through the last part on the head and tugged at the thread gently, and it pulled the rabbit’s ear on to its head stitch by stitch. Patton’s eye’s widened, and his mouth dropped. “Are you a _wizard_?” He asked in awe.

“ _Shh_ , don’t tell anyone,” Virgil put his finger up to his lips and whispered quietly. Patton nodded brightly and grabbed the edge of the bed and kicked his legs, miming zipping up his lips. Virgil tied off the knot and put a small dab of superglue on the spot before cutting off the thread and passing her back to Patton. Patton’s eyes glittered and reached out for her tentatively. “You’ll have to be careful with her ear from now on, okay?” Virgil said and put his hand on Patton’s back while he happily squeezed his doll again.

“’Kay!” Patton chirped, looking at the base of the ear with wonder.

“How about we go to the kitchen and we split an apple? I bet you’re hungry after all those emotions,” Virgil offered softly as he put the supplied back in his kit and closed it up. Patton nodded and hopped off Virgil’s bed, not taking his eyes off the doll as he headed back out the bedroom door.

“Can we have it with peanut butter?” Patton asked, looking up to Virgil who was now following behind him down the hall to the kitchen.

“Yeah. I’ll even put raisins and cinnamon in the peanut butter,” Virgil smiled down to Patton, and he grinned and ran to the kitchen. Virgil chuckled and followed after Patton.

—

Patton was passed out in his jammies on the couch after dinner, holding Mrs. Bunnyface tightly under a soft knitted throw while a cartoon played on the TV. Logan put down his tablet and was about to get up to carry Patton off to bed, but Virgil put his arm on Logan’s shoulder to stop him from getting up.

“What’s wrong, Virgil?” Logan asked quietly. Virgil got up to pick up Patton instead, carefully draping him against his chest and heading off to Patton’s bedroom to tuck him in. Virgil laid him down in bed, making sure not to lay the doll’s floppy ears under Patton as he held on tight, even in his sleep. He turned on the white noise machine and the nightlight before closing up and heading back out into the living room.

“You wanted to tuck him in?” Logan asked curiously.

“He had a tough day,” Virgil nodded and sat back down next to Logan, taking the remote and ending the kid’s cartoon and switching it to a show he wanted to watch. Logan hummed and nodded, turning his attention back to his tablet. Virgil settled on Avatar and looked to Logan for a moment. “Hey, dad?”

“Yes, Virgil?” Logan looked up from his tablet to Virgil.

“Can I get a ride into school tomorrow from you or papa?” Virgil asked carefully, shifting slightly back from Logan. 

“Do you need to go early?” Logan asked curiously.

“I need to go a little _late_ , actually,” Virgil said sheepishly, raising his shoulders to brace himself.

“ _Why on earth_ would you need to go to school _late_?” Logan furrowed his eyebrows. Virgil flinched slightly back from Logan's upset expression. 

“Not after the bell!” Virgil added quickly and held up his hands. “I just need to have a word with someone at Patton’s bus stop tomorrow morning,” Virgil explained fairly.

“Should I be _concerned_?” Logan said, raising his eyebrow, his expression changing quickly from bothered to inquisitive. 

“ _Nah_ ,” Virgil waved his hand dismissively. “I’ve _got_ this,” Virgil smirked and leaned back against the couch. Logan stared at Virgil impassively for a moment longer before returning to his tablet. 


	3. Gold Spoons

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Virgil's feeling uncertain about his new brother.

Some part of Virgil registered that his dads had already started the adoption process. That they wanted him there and that they loved him. That it had been two years with them now and they had no plans of letting him go. But there was a very loud voice saying that he would be replaced by another kid. That the other kid would fit better and be better and they’d change their minds or ignore him. And he’d go back to scraps and struggling alone because there was no one to help him when things too overwhelming.

Virgil knew it didn’t make sense. His dads would never do that to him. They even asked Virgil if he’d be okay if they could foster another younger child. Virgil agreed to it. Papa had said that taking Virgil in had made them so happy they wanted to spread the love. Dad was clear that them wanting another kid didn’t mean that they would love or support Virgil any less. And Virgil honestly felt secure in that moment. Papa wrapped him up in an enormous hug when he agreed and they went out to Virgil’s favourite pizza place to celebrate. It was a nice day. He’d had lots of nice days since he got to the Sanders.

But now that the day where a new kid would come was here, he couldn’t help but hate the new kid. He’d never even met him. Dad said his name was Patton, and he was six. He was shy and his communication was a little stunted. And that all sounded well and good. Until Virgil’s stupid fear of abandonment issues started acting up.

Virgil fiddled with his hoodie strings while he sat alone in his bedroom, balled up against the wall on his bed. He knew he was being stupid. He was completely aware. Why couldn’t he stop? He didn’t even know this kid, and he hated him from an irrational fear. It wouldn’t even bet this kid’s fault if he got abandoned, it would be his parents. It made even less sense the more he thought about it. But he also couldn’t stop hating him. Virgil yanked on either side of the string and stared down at his lap blankly. His parents want this. Why can’t he be happy for them? Why can’t he be happy for the new kid? Virgil groaned in frustration and dropped his head to his knees.

“Virgil?” Logan said, peeking into Virgil’s bedroom. Virgil glanced up and gave Logan a weak wave in acknowledgment. “I had a feeling,” Logan said, opening the door and coming into the bedroom.

“A _feeling_ , huh?” Virgil laughed grimly and wrapped his arms around his legs.

“I’ve learned a lot from you, Virgil. Do you mind if I join you?” Logan asked, stopping a foot or so from the bed. Virgil shook his head and Logan climbed up on to the bed and sat next to Virgil. He paused for a moment of consideration and wrapped his arm around Virgil’s shoulders and pulled him closer. Virgil exhaled and leaned against Logan.

“Why do I have to be like this?” Virgil asked quietly.

“I’m afraid I’m missing some important context. Would you like to elucidate me?” Logan asked, rubbing Virgil’s shoulder a little.

“Not really,” Virgil muttered. He didn’t want his dad to be mad at him.

“Well then, I suppose the argument is nature versus nurture in a more broad sense. Is it your genetics or your experiences who make you who you are today? Is anything really you and your choices and wants or is everything considered ‘you’ determined by chemical reactions in your body?” Logan mused and leaned against Virgil.

“That’s… _weirdly_ philosophical of you. And a little terrifying,” Virgil looked up to Logan in confusion.

“Finding out what motivates us is important to the progress of ourselves. We can’t be more if we can’t find out what makes us want more,” Logan explained, sounding fascinated.

“What makes us want more?” Virgil was even more confused now. “What do you mean?”

“There are two types of motivation. And motivation is what keeps us moving forward. One kind is intrinsic motivation, which comes within. The other is extrinsic motivation. That’s external motivation. External motivation is important, of course. This is things like validation from peers and rewards in the real world. But intrinsic motivation is the things done for the sake of the satisfaction of the activity, even when there’s no reward to be found,” Logan continued on. But Virgil still felt a little lost.

“What does that have to do with why I’m like this?” Virgil asked, furrowing his eyebrows and looking to Logan at an angle.

“I don’t know exactly what you’re talking about. I just know what motivation is an important part of being who you want to be instead of what nature or nurture has already provided for you. Why you could be one way or another. You don’t sound satisfied with where you are, so we should find what motivates you to help you change. Roman, for example, has lots of talent, but he’s very insecure. These two things conflict for him. But when people cheer for him or he receives accolades, he finds happiness and satisfaction despite the internal conflict,” Logan motioned to the door, perhaps towards where he last saw Roman.

“Okay,” Virgil nodded. He felt like he was following now.

“And consider me. I find happiness when I complete things of my own merit. I like proving to myself that I’m capable, and I don’t mind if nobody cheers for me as long as people respect me and take me seriously. I can get insecure when people do not take me seriously, but I can still find happiness in my own tasks without interaction,” Logan said.

“So you guys are like the two kinds of motivations?” Virgil said.

“That’s correct. So which kind makes more sense for you?” Logan asked gently.

“I don’t like it when I’m the center of attention. But I also don’t like it when no one recognizes when I’ve worked hard. I don’t think either make sense for me,” Virgil admitted quietly. “So I’m like this because I’m unmotivated?”

“No, I don’t think so. Not everybody is one way or the other. Plenty of people need a combination of both. When I’ve worked particularly hard, I like my work to be acknowledged by others, too. And when Papa practices and rehearses, he does that alone and is motivated by his own drive to be the best he can be. Maybe you’re more balanced between the two. So what makes you feel good?” Logan asked, giving Virgil a small squeeze with his arm.

“I don’t know. When people like me, I guess. I like feeling included and stuff. Music makes me feel good. I dunno if that’s a motivator, though,” Virgil admitted softly.

“It can be if you’re interested in it. Music could be intrinsically motivating for you. If you are feeling dissatisfied, we can consider a musical pursuit, but I don’t understand the root of the problem. I would like it if you didn’t exclude details so I could assist you better,” Logan said, sounding somewhere between concerned and perturbed.

“I can’t say it. I’m sorry,” Virgil muttered. “Thanks for caring, though,” Virgil added, feeling a little less sour. He pressed into Logan and reached up to squeeze his arm briefly.

“I’ll _always_ care for you, Virgil,” Logan said softly. “Both of us will always be there for you,” Logan rubbed Virgil’s shoulder again. And hearing him say that helped much more than Virgil wanted to say out loud. Part of him still hated the competition and the unknowns. But even the day they were expecting Patton to come, Logan took time out to talk to Virgil and reassure him even when he didn’t know what was wrong.

“Hello, gentleman!” Roman popped his head in. “Are you alright, my little stormy sky?” Roman stepped in and sat on the edge of the bed.

“Yeah, I’ll be all right. My head’s just in a weird place,” Virgil looked up to Roman and gave him a weak smile.

“Being in a weird place helps you know when you’re in the right one, sometimes, as strange as it sounds,” Roman smiled. “We’re here for you, though, every weird place, nice place, and bad one. If you tell me what you want and I will move heaven and earth to find it for you,” Roman put his hand to his chest and raised his other one dramatically.

“Papa,” Virgil groaned and rolled his eyes.

“Virgil said he is interested in music,” Logan sat up a little and looked to Roman with a sly smile.

“Music? My boy? _Really_?” Roman beamed and looked like he was glowing with excitement.

“ _Papa,_ ” Virgil groaned harder. “I’m just _interested_ , okay, I like it,” Virgil tapped on his legs.

“Well what part of music are you interested in? Singing? Playing an instrument? Music production?” Roman asked brightly, deeply invested, leaning toward Virgil with a bright smile.

“I don’t know!” Virgil leaned back against the wall.

“How about you do some research and come back to us with something that sounds intriguing to try?” Logan asked.

“Oh, that’s _boring_ , let’s go to a music store and you can play with all the instruments and tools and see what feels right for you,” Roman objected with a little pout towards Logan.

“ _Guys_ ,” Virgil groaned. But he liked it a bit, if he was honest with himself. It was all reassuring. But Virgil wouldn’t really know for sure how they’d treat him until it happened.

“I’ve never heard you sing, Virgil. Maybe you can practice with me sometime?” Roman offered. “I can teach you the basics,” 

“If I wanted to _later_ , would the offer still be open? I don’t know if I want to, but…” Virgil trailed off.

“Anytime, sunshine, all I need is a sign,” Roman sang with his arm in the air.

“Fine,” Virgil chuckled. If the offer really stayed open, then Virgil could maybe shut his head up about it.

“A poet in the making!” Roman declared dramatically. Logan chuckled and rolled his eyes.

“How about we reconvene in the living room and do something more active help put you in a better head-space, Virgil?” Logan offered. “It will not help any to be alone with your thoughts no matter what you are going through,” He added in that helpful way he did that always just skirted annoying. But it sounded nice.

“Can we play spoons?” Virgil asked, looking up to Logan.

“I will get the _finest_ deck of cards!” Roman declared, standing up.

“Roman, we have _two_ decks of cards,” Logan huffed, flipping his hand free hand flippantly. 

“I will get the one with the gold foil and make fruit punch mocktails so we can feel fancy!” Logan adjusted his statement.

“I have some solid gold coins in plastic containers we could use as the proverbial ‘spoons’ if you wanted to feel extravagant,” Logan said, rubbing his chin.

“ _What_? That would be _so cool_!” Virgil shot, unable to contain his excitement at the prospect. He’d never seen a real gold coin and wanted to play with it. It would be much more fun than spoons. Like being a thief in the night as he sneaked a real gold coin under their noses.

“Can you both promise to be careful with them and not drop them? It’s important they stay in their casings or they will lose value,” Logan asked, holding up a finger.

“Yes, _dad_ ,” Virgil and Roman both intoned, then looked at each other and laughed. Logan rolled his eyes and gave Virgil a last squeeze before getting up off the bed. Virgil watched them head into the living room and tried to gather himself. Okay. He was starting to feel better. Kicking their asses at spoons would probably help, too. So maybe he didn’t really know what motivated him so he could be less insecure and worry less about being abandoned again, but it sounded like they wanted to help him find that what did, even if Virgil couldn’t admit what was really bothering him. Logan was always telling him he had to try before deciding he hated something. So Virgil could try. 


	4. New Arrivals

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Sanders meet Patton for the first time.

Roman’s excitement was palpable as the social worker’s car pulled up to the side of the sidewalk. Virgil would have liked to make fun of him for bouncing like a kid, but he was still too nervous. Logan kept a steadying hand on Virgil’s shoulder, though, and that helped more than he could admit out loud. A short lady with bob came out of the car and walked up to Roman.

“Good afternoon, Mr. Sanders. I’m really sorry for the delay. There was some… trouble with the pickup,” She said sheepishly.

“It’s all well and good! We’re just so excited to meet him!” Roman said brightly and waved away her concerns. She smiled weakly and turned back to the back seat of the car to let Patton out. The view was blocked by Roman, but Virgil didn’t really care so much. He pressed into Logan’s side and Logan rubbed his shoulder affectionately. Logan being willing to stay with him helped Virgil feel less insecure.

“Look. At. You! Oh my goodness, you are the cutest little thing,” Roman cooed and squatted down on the lawn. Virgil saw the kid’s curly hair from the side, but his face was buried in a beat-up looking rabbit doll. He seemed pretty short and small for a 6-year-old. Virgil looked up to Logan, who’s face was scrunched with concern. Logan must have agreed.

“Come on, Patton,” The social worker urged him, but Patton shook his head and dropped to the grass next to the sidewalk and started crying. “I’m sorry, he’s… had a hard day,” She explained. She tried to put her hand on his shoulder, but he shirked away. Roman shot Logan a desperate look, but Logan shook his head slightly and shrugged. Roman stopped and stared for a moment, deciding what to do.

“This old town can slow you down, people taking the easy way. But I know exactly where I’m going. And getting closer, closer, every day,” Roman started singing softly and Patton loosened up slightly. “And I’m almost there, I’m almost there. People down here think I’m crazy, but I don’t care. Trials and tribulations I’ve had my share. There ain’t nothing gonna stop me now ‘cause I’m almost there,” Roman broke out singing, striking a pose and beaming down to Patton. Patton pulled away from his rabbit doll slightly and looked up and watched Roman as he continued to sing. Roman stood upright and Roman spun around the lawn and eventually a smile spread on Patton’s face. He grasped his doll tightly in his lap and watched Roman dance around with bright eyes.

“Hello, my prince,” Roman said brightly and dropped back down to squat to look at Patton again. He clenched his doll tighter but still looked interested in Roman.

“Hi,” Patton said quietly, half-hiding behind his doll again. Roman held out his hand for Patton, and Patton looked between it and Roman a few times before timidly taking it. Roman helped Patton up to his feet with a smile. Patton backed up from Roman and held his doll nervously.

“Welcome _home_ , Patton,” Roman bowed deeply. Virgil rolled his eyes at how extra Roman was. Patton seemed to respond to it, though. A little giggle bubbled up it Patton and bowed back. Virgil had to admit he was cute, too.

“Hi,” Patton muttered again, looking from Roman to Logan and Virgil.

“Hello, Patton,” Logan nodded and smiled over to him.

“Are you feeling better, Patton?” His social worker asked, and he looked up to her and nodded, but backed up from her, too. “I’ll get your things,” She said and went to the trunk of the car. Patton looked over to Logan with concern and then looked pointedly at Virgil for a moment.

“That’s Virgil, he’s your new brother,” Roman provided, watching Patton’s eye line. Virgil waved weekly to Patton, feeling very conflicted. Patton walked up to Virgil and looked up to him. Virgil looked confused and looked to Roman. Roman just motioned to Patton, but Virgil didn’t feel like he knew what to do. He felt torn now between his feelings and his desires. Virgil looked up to Logan hoping for an answer and Logan just squeezed Virgil’s shoulder again. That wasn’t an answer. It’s not like Virgil explained himself though, it was dumb to hope for one.

“Is your hair _real_?” Patton asked, sounding more careful than a curious kid should. Patton pointed up to his hair. Virgil looked up to his purple bangs and pulled on them.

“Um, _yeah_ ,” Virgil said sheepishly. Virgil caught a glimpse of something purple peeking out from under Patton’s sleeve as he gripped his doll again. Logan dropped down to Patton’s height and smiled at him. Patton still looked concerned and kept his distance.

“It’s nice to meet you, Patton. I’m looking forward to getting to know you,” Logan said brightly. Patton smiled slightly back at Logan, but scooted closer to Virgil. Virgil angled himself to get a better look, and then recognition struck. Virgil’s mouth set in a hard line and any residual hate he had for this kid had disappeared in an instant. Patton needed to be here just as much as Virgil did. Virgil squatted down as well to greet Patton properly.

“Hey,” He waved to Patton. Patton’s concern melted when he looked to Virgil, and he walked right up.

“This is Mrs. Bunnyface,” Patton said and wiggled the doll, holding it out in front of him.

“Hey, Mrs. Bunnyface,” Virgil felt a little stupid saying it, but he wouldn’t dare say it and hurt this kid’s feelings. “Is she your friend?”

“Yeah,” Patton said and nodded brightly.

“Excuse me, _um_ , Mr. Sanders? I should probably explain a few things. From this morning, I mean,” She stammered out, looking worriedly between the two other adults.

“Oh?” Roman said, standing back up and walking over to the social worker holding the backpack and a small beat-up carry-on luggage bag.

“Will you be _all right_ with Patton, Virgil?” Logan asked carefully, looking concerned. “I should possibly be in on this conversation,” Logan said, fidgeting with the buttons on his wrist.

“Yeah,” Virgil smiled weakly and nodded. He swallowed hard as he watched Logan stand up and walk over to the car next to the social worker. The social worker talked in hushed tones he couldn’t hear, but Virgil probably had a pretty good idea already if it had anything to do with the bruise on Patton’s arm and why he was nervous around the other adults but not Virgil. “So tell me about Mrs. Bunnyface,” Virgil said, sitting down in the grass and crossing his legs under him. Patton walked right up and sat in front of Virgil, making the doll hop around.

“Mrs. Bunnyface likes t’make cookies and cakes!” Patton said brightly.

“She _does_? Does she make carrot cake?” Virgil asked, playing along.

“No!” Patton stuck out his tongue. “Mrs. Bunnyface _hates_ carrots,” Patton made a disgusted face and noise and made the doll shake its head.

“Is that so, _huh_?” Virgil laughed, amused. “I’ve never met a bunny who hates carrots,”

“But, you met Mrs. Bunnyface,” Patton pouted, stopping his doll from hopping around.

“That’s true. You’re right. Sorry, kid,” Virgil chuckled slightly.

“You wanna see her?” Patton asked shyly, pulling the doll in again.

“I-yeah… sure,” Virgil said quietly, taking the doll carefully. He didn’t understand why Patton would so willingly share something he clearly loved. Virgil looked at the worn-down low-pile fur and the faded tag sticking out under the rabbit's tail. He’d had this doll for a long time. He handed it back to him with a smile. “She’s lovely,”

“Yes,” Patton nodded proudly.

“What does Mrs. Bunnyface like to eat?” Virgil asked.

“Mac an’ cheese,” Patton nodded again, holding her close. “Can I touch your hair?” Patton asked curiously. “Sorry,” He stopped himself.

“No, no, be my guest,” Virgil shook his head before leaning forward so Patton could reach. Patton’s little fingers tugged at it a little, but Virgil didn’t mind.

“It feels _funny_ ,” Patton looked disappointed when Virgil looked back to him.

“Yeah, hair dye will do that,” Virgil chuckled lightly and looked back over to Roman and Logan. Logan’s arms were crossed and Roman looked very upset, but he was nodding along and listening quietly to the social worker. Patton yawned slightly and leaned towards Virgil. “Are you okay, Patton?” Virgil asked as he glanced back to Roman who looked like he was ready to punch somebody, now. Virgil felt like he should get Patton inside in case Roman blew up. 

“Uh-huh,” Patton nodded slowly.

“What do you say we go watch some cartoons while they talk?” Virgil asked gently. 

“Are we _allowed_?” Patton furrowed his eyebrows and looked worried.

“Yeah, we’re allowed,” Virgil nodded and stood up. Patton crawled to his feet and took ahold of Virgil’s hand with no prompting. Virgil waved to them with his free hand and when Roman looked over, Virgil motioned with his thumb to the house. Roman nodded and looked back to the social worker. “What’s your favourite cartoon?” Virgil asked as they headed inside. Patton just looked down and didn’t respond, stiffening up and slowing down as he walked. “That’s okay, you don’t have to say. Does Mrs. Bunnyface like any cartoons?” Virgil asked carefully.

“Mrs. Bunnyface likes _Winnie the Pooh_ ,” Patton loosened back up quickly and bounced into the living room, dropping in the middle of the floor in front of the TV. Virgil flipped through the movies on the entertainment shelf. Winnie the pooh was kind of young for a kid his age, but Patton acted a little young, too. Virgil found the _Winnie the Pooh_ movie and put it into the blu-ray player.

“You can sit on the couch if you want,” Virgil offered. Patton looked between Virgil and the TV and opted to climb up and sit next to Virgil after a moment of consideration. Roman and Logan came in a few minutes later with Patton’s things in tow.

“Hello, boys!” Roman said brightly, though he looked a little off. Virgil couldn’t blame him.

“Hey. We’re watching _Winnie the Pooh_ ,” Virgil said, motioning with his head towards the TV.

“Ah, stellar idea,” Roman beamed and sat down on the couch. Patton moved a little closer to Virgil and held his doll tightly. Logan headed down the hall with Patton’s things. “Do you like Winnie the pooh? I love Tigger, myself,” Roman said brightly. Patton looked up to Virgil with concern before looking back to Roman.

“Who is Mrs. Bunnyface’s favourite character, Patton?” Virgil asked with a small smile to Patton.

“She, um, she likes Piglet,” Patton said quietly.

“Piglet is a noble choice. He’s always there for Pooh and his friends,” Roman crossed his leg and sat back on the couch.

“Who do you like?” Patton looked up to Virgil.

“I like Eeyore. He _gets_ me,” Virgil smirked.

“I think Eeyore needs a hug,” Patton frowned.

“He probably does,” Virgil shrugged. “He’s got a great family to take care of him, though,” Logan returned into the living room.

“Patton, is there anything you are interested in for dinner?” Logan asked as he walked to stand behind the couch. Patton froze up and couldn’t answer again.

“ _Mrs. Bunnyface_ would probably like Macaroni and cheese, right Patton?” Virgil asked, hoping the emphasis on the doll's name was enough for Logan to catch on. Patton nodded slightly, looking worried. “She also really hates carrots,” Virgil added.

“Yeah,” Patton said quietly, looking up to Virgil nervously again.

“I will… take that into consideration,” Logan said carefully, seeming to understand and nodding once.

“ _Wha_ ’?” Patton looked confused at Logan for a moment.

“He said he wants Mrs. Bunnyface to be happy,” Virgil said.

“He _did_?” Patton asked quietly as he leaned closer to Virgil.

“Yup,” Virgil nodded and moved his arm to let Patton scoot in. Roman smiled softly at Virgil, who just rolled his eyes back at him in return. 


	5. Pushed the Button

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Virgil has a panic attack and Patton doesn't know what to do.

The sun was starting to set behind the curtains on a quiet evening of relaxation at the Sanders household. Roman and Logan were in the kitchen working on dinner and Virgil was curled up on the couch on his phone, keeping an eye on Patton while cartoons played. Patton situated himself on the floor in front of the TV, a safe eight feet back as decreed by Logan. He was sitting with his feet out and tapping his toes against each other as he paid his full attention to the screen. Virgil was mostly just paying attention to his Tumblr dash since My Little Pony was on, and Patton rarely wandered when it was playing. Virgil liked the show, too, but it was a repeat episode so he was much more interested in the creepypasta he ran across on his dash.

Virgil was still engrossed in the story when the episode ended. Patton saw Virgil curled up and holding his legs and gazing intently at his phone. He turned off the TV and got up to walk over to Virgil. He watched Virgil for a moment, silently trying to figure out Virgil was doing so he could join him. Virgil seemed so enraptured that what he was doing must have been interesting.

“Whatcha doin’?” Patton finally asked and leaned a little to the side in curiosity.

“Reading, pipsqueak. You need me for something?” Virgil asked and briefly looked up from his phone to see Patton’s inquisitive expression.

“Nuh-uh,” Patton shook his head. Virgil shrugged and looked back down to his phone to continue reading. Patton glanced around the room and went over to the bookshelf against the wall. He wanted to join Virgil in reading on the couch. Virgil’s intense focus on his phone made it seem more fun than watching TV.

Patton walked over and examined the various books. The lower two shelves were all books near Patton’s reading level they picked up for him. There were plenty of options, but the bright covers on the Magic Treehouse books caught his attention the most right now. Patton tried to pull out one of the books to look at the cover, but static cling between the hardcovers pulled out three of the books at once. Patton frowned and tugged all three out and tried to pry them apart. It was difficult to get a good grip on the smooth covers but Patton managed to pry one of the books separate from the other two, but he had dropped the other two on the floor with a dull-sounding thud. Patton flinched at making a mess at first, but he picked up the books and slid the other two back in their place on the shelf. He nodded to himself in satisfaction when there was no more evidence of the dropped books.

Patton collected his hard-won book prize and took it over to the couch, climbing up to sit near Virgil and read. Patton smiled to Virgil, but Virgil didn’t look good. His breathing was ragged, and he had dropped his phone and held tight on to his legs, looking pale and staring into nothing.

“You okay?” Patton put down the book next to him on the couch. Virgil didn’t answer, though. Patton scooted closer and waved slightly to catch his attention. “Virge?” He asked quietly and waved again. “You okay? Please say,” Patton asked a little louder. Patton didn’t like how Virgil shook and how Virgil’s shoulders were stiff and tight. “Virge? Virge? You don’ look good,” He asked again. Patton was starting to feel a little scared. Virgil had never done this before and he sounded like he was in pain. Virgil shook his head and looked even sicker. Patton frowned deeply and leaned towards Virgil, trying to see if he was hurt. “You look _bad_. You okay?” Patton asked sadly, feeling worried.

“Shut up! Shut up! _Shut up_!” Virgil’s volume grew with every exclamation. He gripped his head and shook it violently, pressed hard against the arm of the couch. Patton stumbled back where he was seated and his eyes teared up. Virgil kept gripping his head and shaking it, and Patton was even more scared than before. Patton curled up and started crying, unsure what he did, but Virgil had never spoken to him like that and he felt like he messed up badly and there was clearly something wrong with Virgil and he just wanted to help.

“What’s going on out here?” Roman asked them as he entered the living room. Roman's eyes widened in recognition when he saw Virgil coiled up and Patton crying on the couch. “ _Oh_! Oh! Patton, baby, please move back,” Roman requested in a panic and quickly rushed around the couch. “Virgil, you’re safe, okay?” He said as softly as he could manage and kneeled on the floor next to Virgil. Virgil kept shaking his head and had clamped his arms down hard on his head, digging his nails in. “Logan!” Roman called out when Patton wouldn’t move and just kept crying on the couch. Virgil shook his head violently again and let out a raspy, choked scream.

“I’m sorry!” Patton sobbed, balling up and crying. Virgil started tearing at his hair, and Logan slid quickly in front of Patton to block the view.

“Patton, I need to move you,” Logan said quickly and reached out to pick him up. Patton backed up and shook his head.

“I’m _sorry_!” Patton cried out again. Virgil started thrashing and Roman nearly reached out to stop him but thought better of it.

“It’s not your fault, Patton,” Logan insisted firmly. Virgil growled and Patton angled himself to try to see what was wrong as Virgil freaked out and thrashed just out of his view behind Logan’s back. Patton still didn't understand what was wrong and had to know.

“Virgil! Please _stop_ , you’re safe, okay? You’re safe. Please try to breathe!” Roman pleaded with Virgil.

“Don’t look! Patton, I apologize, but I need to move you now, it is not safe here,” Logan rubbed Patton’s shoulder before picking him up and carrying him out of the living room while Roman cooed to Virgil softly, trying to calm him down.

“But _Virge_!” Patton objected and tried to wiggle out of Logan’s arms, but Logan held him carefully and took him to Patton’s bedroom. Patton had no idea what was going on and returned to crying as Logan carefully put him down on his bed. Patton collapsed into a heap and wailed into the bed. Logan kept a grounding hand on Patton’s back as he cried for a little longer.

“Patton, that wasn’t your fault. And Virgil didn’t mean to lash out at you,” Logan said calmly.

“I dunno what I _did_!” Patton bawled into his comforter.

“There is just certain stimulus that Virgil finds stressful, you might not have done anything,” Logan said placatingly, patting Patton’s back lightly. Patton was so confused he just stared at Logan in bafflement, distracted from his tears. “I mean some noises and sights are scary to Virgil. It isn’t your fault,”

“Virge is afraid of things?” Patton sniffled and rubbed his eyes on his sleeve. Logan reached out to grab Patton’s tissue box and passed it to Patton. Patton sat up, still crying a little, and blew his nose. He hiccuped and rubbed his eyes again as more tears fell.

“Yes. Everyone has something they are afraid of,” Logan said reassuringly.

“But he takes spiders out of the house and stopped that dog!” Patton objected, not understanding. Virgil always protected Patton and he couldn’t imagine Virgil being afraid.

“Some things remind Virgil of bad things that he’s afraid of,” Logan explained, reaching out to Patton’s shoulder to hold it again while he continued to sniffle and cry.

“What is Virgil afraid of?” Patton pulled out another tissue and blew his nose again, finally starting to settle down.

“He’s afraid of tight spaces and…” Logan cleared his throat nervously. “Certain things his birth parents did,” Logan side skirted what he could. It wasn’t something Patton wasn’t familiar with, but Logan didn’t want to upset Patton any further.

“They weren't _there_ ,” Patton frowned and wiped his face off again.

“Do you know how when you push a button on the remote it changes the channel?” Logan said carefully, trying to think of the best way to word this.

“Uh-huh,” Patton looked up to Logan with a puffy face and red eyes.

“Some things push a button for Virgil and turn his TV to a bad memory that he struggles with,” Logan held out his arms and Patton climbed in after a moment of hesitation.

“So Virge has… mean memories, too?” Patton asked weakly, nodding in recognition. 

“He does. It’s why he’s so determined to be brave for you. Virgil will be okay. Roman will help him focus and calm down. You can ask Dr. Picani about it next week. I’m positive he has some cartoon reference to help you understand better,” Logan rubbed Patton’s back lightly.

“’Kay,” Patton reached to hug Logan back and exhaled weakly. Logan rubbed small circles into Patton’s back for a while, helping him calm down. Patton was starting to feel tired and rubbed his face into Logan’s side. After a while of silent settling, a knock came at Patton’s bedroom door and Roman opened it.

“It’s all safe out here, the beast is _quelled_ and Virgil is all right now,” Roman leaned in and smiled at them before heading back down the hall.

“Do you want to go back out?” Logan asked Patton, gently. Patton nodded and crawled off of Logan. Logan helped him down off the bed and held his hand as he walked out back into the living room. Virgil was gripping a pillow and looking despondent, still looking a little pale, but now much more tired than anything else.

“Patty!” Virgil called out when he realized they were standing at the entrance to the hallway and looking at him. “I’m _so sorry_ , pipsqueak,” He said sadly and fiddled with the corner of the pillow. “I-” Virgil tried to start but was a little choked up. Patton looked up to Logan for a moment before looking back to Virgil with concern. “I didn’t mean- I hope you can forgive me,” Virgil said weakly, the pillow falling slack in his lap as he looked sadly to Patton. Patton looked back up to Logan again, unsure what to do.

“Did you have something you wanted to say to Virgil?” Logan asked, leaning down. Patton froze for a moment.

“You okay?” Patton asked quietly.

“Patton wants to know if you are all right,” Logan said louder so Virgil could hear it.

“Yeah, I’m gonna be okay. Thanks, buddy. I wouldn’t mind a hug, though,” Virgil chuckled weakly, picking at the pillow still. Patton paused, but slowly headed across the living room and up on to the couch. Virgil dropped the pillow immediately and held open his arms, and Patton crawled in right away and hugged him. “Do you forgive me?” Virgil whispered sorrowfully. Patton nodded into Virgil’s chest, and Virgil exhaled in relief. “I don’t ever wanna be something that hurts you,” Virgil admitted quietly.

“I’ll haf’ta protect you, too,” Patton offered with a small smile for Virgil. Virgil chuckled weakly and squeezed Patton slightly.

“Are you volunteering for spider duty?” Virgil joked, sounding concerned still.

“Nope!” Patton objected right away, shaking his head.

“That’s fine. I like the little buggers,” Virgil said quietly, happily holding on to Patton.

“Buggers,” Patton tittered to himself and Virgil smiled softly. “I’ma help you fight your mean memories so you don’t haf’ta be scared no more,” Patton said seriously, making a resolute expression. Virgil looked to Logan with heavy concern, questioning him with his eyes.

“I wasn’t specific, I just tried to word it in a way he would understand,” Logan held up his hands. Virgil exhaled with a sigh of relief.

“Okay. Thanks, Patty. For now, just being careful with putting down books quietly is fine,” Virgil said placatingly.

“Are book noises something that pushes the button?” Patton asked sadly, feeling upset about scaring Virgil.

“They- um,” Virgil looked up to Logan again who nodded. “Yeah, they push the button. I know it was an _accident_ , buddy, so don’t feel bad. Dr. Picani and I are working on... making it harder to push that button,”

“I’m gonna make you a weapon,” Patton smiled. “Then you and Picky can fight it easy,” He nodded like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

“I’d love a weapon. Thanks, tiny terror,” Virgil smiled and chuckled slightly and ruffled Patton’s hair. “Is, uh, dinner soon?” Virgil asked Logan hopefully, who was smiling softly as he watched his kids make up.

“Thirty minutes or so,” Logan supplied. “I can go check,” He offered.

“It’s okay. I think I want to lie down. Do you want to?” Virgil asked Patton meekly.

“Yeah,” Patton nodded and pulled back so Virgil could lie down. Patton laid down in front of him and Logan moved to throw a blanket over the pair of them and sit down at Virgil’s feet. Virgil took a deep breath, which rustled Patton’s hair as he exhaled. Virgil and Patton closed their eyes and rested together. Virgil was relieved he didn’t ruin everything and Patton felt the same. Patton Pulled Virgil’s arm closer to himself and yawned lightly before snuggling closer. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you're morbidly curious about why book slamming is upsetting to Virgil... well, it's not a myth that hitting someone with the flat surface of a book doesn't leave bruises in most cases.


	6. We Simmer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The family goes to a water park.

“Does everybody have their sunscreen on?” Logan asked, checking his watch.

“Yeah,” Virgil grunted, hands in his hoodie pockets and kicking at a pebble. “Can we go yet?”

“Just a second!” Roman said brightly, with Patton fussing slightly as Roman put sunscreen on the top of his ears.

“Virgil, are you sure you don’t want to put your jacket in the locker?” Logan looked Virgil up and down as he leaned against the lockers at the water park.

“Yes, I’m sure,” Virgil rolled his eyes.

“Aren’t you going to get sweaty under there?” Roman asked with a raised eyebrow, still struggling to get Patton to sit still long enough to put sunscreen on the top of his ears.

“Goths don’t sweat, we simmer,” Virgil smirked and winked at Patton, who stopped trying to stop Roman long enough to giggle at Virgil who was shooting finger guns at him now.

“Danny Phantom!” Roman cheered. “I love that halfa. All right, now we’re all successfully armored against the sun,” Roman said, passing the sunscreen back to Logan who slid it into the locker with the rest of their things. Patton walked over to Virgil and took his hand with a smile. “Did anyone want to go to a specific ride first, or should we defer to the plan master?” Roman asked as he adjusted his water shoes.

“As long as I get to do that giant body slide on the other end of the park sometime today I’m satisfied,” Virgil shrugged.

“The plan master!” Patton cheered, bouncing a little on the spot with excitement.

“I think that means you can just lead us on the ‘optimal route’, love,” Roman smiled. Logan closed up the locker and slipped on the elastic for the key.

“If we take a brisk paced walk, there is a grouping of tall family tube rides we can take while the lines are short. They are marquee attractions and should be enjoyable,” Logan said proudly.

“Cool,” Virgil stood up from off the lockers and started following Logan, with Patton holding his hand in tow. Roman followed just behind the pair. Logan had a long stride and Patton’s shorter legs started falling behind.

“You okay, Pat?” Virgil looked down and Patton tugged on Virgil’s hand.

“My legs’re too short,” Patton frowned.

“Who do you want to carry you?” Roman asked, looking down at Patton in front of him.

“Virgil,” Patton said, pointing up at Virgil. Roman picked up Patton and deposited him on Virgil’s shoulders quickly as they kept moving.

“Hey,” Virgil laughed, half-heartedly objecting and holding on to Patton’s legs. “Okay, Patty, hold on to me,” Virgil said enticingly and Patton wrapped his arms around Virgil’s head. Virgil picked up the pace and leaned forward, Patton squeaking from surprise and then squealing with delight as Virgil rushed ahead of Logan.

“Virgil, please be careful!” Logan called after him.

“Careful’s my middle name. Come on, pops, the faster we get there, the faster we ride the waves,” Virgil called back behind him, not angling any to keep Patton mostly upright.

“That is not your middle name!” Logan called back, speeding up. Roman laughed and jogged beside Logan, right behind Virgil and Patton.

“Your youthful energy astounds me,” Logan said, a feeling a little winded already.

“Patton, what did he say?” Virgil laughed.

“He said faster!” Patton giggled, pointing ahead as he curled around Virgil’s head.

“I absolutely did _not_!” Logan objected, running up behind Virgil as Virgil bolted ahead.

“If you slow down a bit, we’ll get a funnel cake to share with lunch,” Roman tempted them in a sing-song voice. Virgil slowed down in a few strides.

“Negotiations are open,” Virgil said seriously.

“That _was_ the offer, Virgil,” Roman rolled his eyes.

“Oh no, my youthful exuberance,” Virgil deadpanned, teasing his parents playfully, and sped up again. Roman sighed heavily.

“What are your demands,” Roman motioned to them as if he was giving them the floor. Virgil slowed back down to a brisk pace.

“Chocolate,” Patton nodded resolutely.

“Is that the only demand?” Logan raised his eyebrow at them.

“No, we want ice cream. Sometime today. Ideally on the way home,” Virgil said firmly.

“When did you even _discuss_ this?” Logan sighed with exasperation.

“We connected brains when you put Patton on me,” Virgil said with a small nod and Patton grinned widely.

“Ew!” Patton giggled.

“What you don’t like it when I talk about squishy _bra~ins_?” Virgil drawled and laughed playfully. Patton shook his head but he was laughing, too.

“Yuck!” Patton giggled.

“That’s too much sugar,” Logan shook his head.

“Oh, no, suddenly I can’t control my speed! _How strange_!” Virgil teased and started slowing down.

“Oh, _no_ ,” Patton parroted, flailing slightly, but not enough to put himself in danger.

“Frozen yogurt, and that’s my final offer. We can put chocolate on the funnel cake,” Logan conceded. He knew he wasn’t winning with two riled up kids.

“Pat also wants sprinkles,” Virgil said warningly and Patton gave a fake pout.

“Patton can have sprinkles. Do you accept?” Logan bit his head in his hands and shook it while he walked. Virgil sped back up to the pace Logan set earlier.

“We accept your terms, thank you very much,” Virgil said proudly and Patton cheered happily. “Look Pat, we have to swim to get to the stairs. You want to fly?” Virgil pointed to the river-styled pool they were walking up to.

“There’s a bridge to the stairs, we don’t have to swim at all,” Logan pointed at the path.

“I wanna stay on you,” Patton said stubbornly.

“Okay,” Virgil smirked and walked right into the water, holding onto Patton’s legs. Patton shrieked with laughter when Virgil kept ambling across the bottom of the pool, the water getting up to about his nose on his face at the deepest point, then walking right out the other side soaking wet and leaving a giant trail of water from his dripping hoodie.

“Virgil, what was the… never mind,” Logan gave up right away and Roman burst out in laughter.

“Children aren’t logical, love. Patton, can I take you? I don’t want Virgil going up the stairs with you on his shoulders,” Roman asked and put his hand on Patton’s shoulder. Patton nodded and let go of Virgil’s head. Roman lifted Patton off of Virgil’s shoulders and held him against his chest with one arm. Roman shuddered from the wet hug and Patton giggled and held on to Roman’s UV shirt.

“You two are a terrifying force when combined,” Logan muttered and Virgil cackled as he started up the stairs. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I got too many sad prompts and went rogue because they needed a good day.


	7. Totally Tubular

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Virgil says something to Roman that Roman isn't a fan of.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Words: 1,259  
> Warnings: Food Mention  
> Characters: Roman, Virgil, Janus, Patton, Logan  
> Universe: Kid!Patton & Teen!Virgil Adopted by Logince  
> Genre: Soft Family Fluff

“Boys, do you need anything?” Roman peeked his head through the open room door. Virgil and Janus were laying back on the bed watching TV in Virgil’s room. The show wasn’t on too loud, but Roman could hear the characters talking just outside the door. Virgil leaned against Janus on the bed and it melted Roman’s heart a little to see.

“No, we’re good,” Virgil waved but didn’t take his eyes off the screen.

“You know you two can watch TV in the living room,” Roman reminded them cheerily, just encase Virgil was watching in the bedroom because he was nervous about bothering someone.

“This show has like… death and violence and stuff. I didn’t want Pat to accidentally see something scary,” Virgil said, starting to sound annoyed. Roman pressed his lips together and hummed in dissatisfaction. He appreciated Virgil considering Patton’s needs but didn’t appreciate the tone this conversation was taking.

“Does that mean that _you two_ shouldn’t be watching it?” Roman raised an eyebrow and stepped into watch the TV. They were watching an animé with a slime monster and a bunch of goblins. It didn’t look too suspect, but animé could be deceiving sometimes.

“It’s rated PG-13, it’s _fine_ ,” Virgil rolled his eyes. “We’re _over_ 13 you know,” Virgil said derisively. Roman frowned and crossed his arms.

“You need not speak like that, Virgil, I’m just looking out for you,” Roman said in a huff, tapping his foot.

“You don’t need to be lame about it, either, but here we are,” Virgil drawled and motioned to Roman loosely with his hand, but he kept his eyes on the subtitles. Janus snickered quietly behind his hand. Roman let out a miffed scoff and held his chest, leaving the two alone to watch their show. He had absolutely nothing nice to say back and didn’t want to let on how offended he was. Roman headed to the next door down the hall to check on Patton.

Patton was reading quietly and listening to some Disney music on the floor. Virgil must have set him up before watching TV with Janus in his room. Roman smiled and waved to Patton to let him know he was home. Patton still needed his space sometimes, but for the most part, he was comfortable with Logan and Roman. Patton looked up and nervously waved back, but also smiled slightly in return. This was probably an evening he needed some space. He wouldn’t mind a hug from his little cuddle bug, but it couldn’t be helped. Roman sighed and went to his bedroom and called up Logan. He needed some way to deal with this!

“Yes, darling? I’m still at the grocery store,” Logan said lightly, and the bustle of the store around he could be made out through the speaker, including some incredibly outdated tinny music over the speaker system.

“I know! I’m just upset!” Roman groaned dramatically and paced the room once.

“Do I need to return home expeditiously?” Logan asked with heavy concern.

“No! Yes! Maybe! Probably not!” Roman blurted out. “He... he called me lame, honey,” Roman whined and dropped theatrically to sit on the bed.

“Who called you lame? I require further context,” Logan asked curiously.

“Virgil! I don’t think he actually _meant_ anything by it but he still _said_ it and when did I get so _old_?” Roman rambled dramatically to Roman, gesticulating with his free hand.

“In what was the situation he called you lame?” Logan asked for further clarification in that neutral way he does.

“He’s watching an animé with Janus, and he mentioned it had death and violence. I just wanted to be sure it was the right age group!” Roman explained, feeling defensive.

“Death and violence are considered acceptable for teenagers, Roman,” Logan said blithely, though perhaps bordering on chidingly.

“Don’t _side_ with him! I was just worried!” Roman shot back, tapping his foot in frustration.

“Well, considering I have to stop teenagers from watching Game of Thrones plenty of times at school, I can relate to where you are coming from. But there is nothing wrong with looking out for the mental welfare of our child,” Logan said. Roman paused awkwardly for a moment. “… You think I’m lame, too, don’t you?”

“I didn’t say that,” Roman said awkwardly. He did kind of think Logan was lame.

“You didn’t say _anything_ , which is why I suspect it to be true,” Logan posited.

“You wear a pocket protector, love, those we lame before we were born and they’re lame now,” Roman sighed, realizing he may as well admit it.

“Then we can be lame together,” Logan sounded bemused.

“No!” Roman objected over-dramatically, holding his wrist to his forehead.

“Roman, we’re hip. We’re in the know,” Logan said facetiously. “We’re up on the hippity-haps,” He added in a bright voice and Roman could have died of embarrassment. He didn't like feeling old. 

“By the scepter of Juno, stop! You’re making it _worse_!” Roman groaned and rubbed his head.

“Well golly gee, you’re the bee’s knees,” Logan deadpanned, and it sounded so fantastically wrong coming out of Logan’s mouth that Roman burst out laughing, his distress melting away.

“Aren’t you the cat’s pajamas?” Roman replied flirtily, playing along now.

“I think you’re the one who is donning the fancy pants,” Logan responded coquettishly.

“You know I like to gild the lily,” Roman chuckled and leaned back on the bed, feeling much better already. Logan always had a way to make small things like this not seem like such a big deal.

“Yes, I think you are… on fleek,” Logan said teasingly with a dramatic pause and Roman broke out laughing again.

“I _am_ the goat,” Roman snickered. “Will you get me some cookies while you’re at the store?” He asked after the laughter settled down.

“Of course. I am a high-key Roman stan,” Logan’s grin was almost audible over the phone.

“If you ever let your students hear you say that, they’ll all have an absolute _conniption_ ,” Roman declared humorously.

“Why they think I would not understand it when I hear them use it all day long is their own false assumption,” Logan said plainly. “It is a good motivator when classroom morale is low, however. I used ‘sus’ recently, much to their amusement,” Logan said, sounding proud of himself.

“Well, be careful about using it in a grocery store or they might learn your dirty little secret,” Roman said slyly, smirking.

“That I love my husband? Oh, they are well aware. I have multiple headshots of you on my desk. My personal favourite is the one where you are wearing a prince outfit,” Logan said lightheartedly.

“Oh, beloved!” Roman cooed, very flattered. “That one is my favourite, too,” Roman admitted, feeling his face warm slightly.

“Please find out if Janus would like to stay for dinner. He is very small and I would like to make sure he gets proper nutrition. Let him know I am willing to give him a ride home,” Logan requested evenly.

“Yes, I know, darling. I’ll let him know. I’ll go get started on dinner. Thank you for cheering me up,” Roman sighed with relief, and the smile was evident in his voice.

“I am happy to help. I love you,” Logan said softly.

“I love you, too,” Roman repeated and hummed with delight as he hung up.


	8. The Tinfoil Crab

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Patton wants to change his hair.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Words: 3,540  
> Warnings: Kids playing with chemicals, bad self-image mention, food  
> Characters: Patton, Virgil, Roman (Logan, Janus, Remus mentioned in passing)  
> Universe: Whole Castle  
> Genre: Found Family Fluff  
> Additional Tags: Hair Dyeing, Nervous Children

Patton was climbing up on the bathroom counter. His eyes were caught on Virgil’s hair dye on the top shelf and he wanted to see. He wanted pretty hair like Virgil’s and he was curious about how to do it. Pulling himself up on to the counter was difficult at his size. He had a few false starts of slipping back down when he jumped, but his hands finally got a grip on the polished granite and he pulled himself up on to the empty part of the counter in front of the cabinet. He pulled up on to his knees to reach the top shelf and pulled down a bottle with a blue fox on it curiously.

He rubbed his eyes and tried to read the tiny text, but his vision was too blurry to make out the instructions properly. He figured he could just fill in the gaps, though. He wanted rainbow hair, so he put the bottle down and looked at the other things on the shelf. There was a bowl and a brush on the shelf, and he thought he might need those, so he pulled them down, too. He saw was an enormous bottle and cylindrical container of something right next to it he also pulled those down, assuming he needed them. Patton sat down on the counter and opened the big container. It was full of powder and it burned his eyes and scratched at the back of his throat so he quickly lidded it again and put it down while he fought a coughing fit that was bursting out.

“Pat? You okay in there?” Virgil called through the door, but Patton couldn’t respond he was coughing so hard. “I’m coming in dude,” Virgil said and slowly pushed the door open. “Okay, arms up!” He said, holding up his arms to show Patton and he followed the request. Virgil patted his back lightly. “Try to breathe deep,” Virgil said softly. “You got this,” Patton settled his coughing down and made a face of disgust at the container of powder.

“That stuff is _nasty_!” Patton frowned at pointed at the container.

“Well, it is bleach, buddy, what do you _expect_?” Virgil raised his eyebrow at Patton and crossed his arms.

“It is?” Patton looked incredulously at the container, picking it back up and spinning it around. “Oh,” He couldn’t make out anything that said bleach, but he trusted Virgil and it smelled awful. Virgil turned on the sink and poured a cup of water, passing it to Patton.

“Gargle and spit it out encase you got any in your mouth, kid,” Virgil said carefully and Patton didn’t question him. Virgil filled the cup and passed him a second one to rinse out again before continuing. “So what are you doing messing with bleach powder on the bathroom counter, pipsqueak?” Virgil smiled and took the container at putting it back up on the top shelf.

“I want hair like yours! But more colors! I wanna whole rainbow of hair,” Patton nodded resolutely and pointed at the container. “Don’t I need it?”

“Yeah, no, dad would kill me if I let you play with chemicals like that,” Virgil shook his head. “And I don’t have a whole rainbow. I just have blue, purple, and red. Oh, and black to fix mistakes. Janus has some gold here but that’s his, we can't use it,” Virgil picked up the bottle of golden yellow off the counter and put it away.

“But I want it,” Patton pouted with his bottom lip heavily sticking out.

“Hey, we can still dye your hair. Dad’s not here to stop us. Hold on,” Virgil went under the sink and pulled out a disposable mask. “You got to wear this though, and we need to turn on the bathroom fan,” Virgil passed off the mask and flipped the fan on. “Do you want all three colors?”

“Yeah! Can we get more?” Patton nodded and asked brightly.

“Heh, if they let me get any dye at all after this it’ll be a miracle,” Virgil said under his breath while he chuckled and shook his head. “Okay, when’d you last wash your hair?”

“Uhhh,” Patton looked away and chewed on his thumb, avoiding Virgil's gaze.

“You’ve got to have clean hair or the dye won’t stick. Give it a quick wash while I go dig out my hair dying shirt,” Virgil pointed to the shower.

“Do I hafta?” Patton pouted, wiggling his lower lip at Virgil.

“It’s the only way. I’ll wash it for you, then, how about that?” Virgil offered, giving into Patton’s little pout.

“’Kay. Be careful,” Patton nodded and scooted off the counter to hop down. Virgil turned on the water and headed out of the bathroom. He came back quickly with a stained towel and a shirt with bleach damage around the collar.

“I will. Shirt off or it’ll feel gross and lean your head over the tub,” Virgil put down the towel and dyeing shirt on the toilet. Patton nodded and followed instructions. Virgil handed him a towel and motioned for Patton to put it on his face. Patton held it to his face and giggled, but didn’t move towards the tub. Virgil rolled his eyes and pushed him over to the tub. “It’ll only take a few minutes. We’ve got to do it again at the end, too,” Virgil warned him. Patton’s shoulder’s slumped, he really hated washing his hair, but if he only had to do it a little bit he would put up with it.

Patton finally leaned over the tub and Virgil took down the handheld showerhead and rinsed Patton’s hair carefully, making sure to keep the water in the tub. He was very practiced at this part and worked the shampoo in quickly. He rinsed out the first shampoo and worked in a second lather. Patton made minor noises of discomfort, but he was handling it okay. Virgil ran his fingers gently across Patton’s scalp as he rinsed out the second wash and Patton relaxed. Patton’s curls were fighting each other while they were wet and Virgil had to be careful not to yank his hair and work curls apart. Virgil understood why Patton hated washing his hair so much, now. He turned off the water and took the towel from Patton to dry it off very carefully, using his nails to press in and scratch at his scalp gently in different spots instead of pulling the towel through and tugging at Patton’s hair.

“You did great, bud,” Virgil smiled at him and Patton looked up at him with his wet lopsided curls. “Your hair will probably get darker when you get older, but it’s light enough to just dye directly. No bleach. It won’t be super vibrant, but I do want to live,” Virgil said and picked up the shirt off the toilet and passed it to Patton. Patton slid it on, and it was way too big on his tiny frame, which Virgil stifled a smile at. He patted on the towel folded up on the toilet and Patton hopped up and looked to Virgil expectantly. “So how do you want it?”

“I want it like yours,” Patton smiled guilelessly at Virgil, pointing up at Virgil’s hair.

“Your hair is shorter than mine, but I can work with that,” Virgil nodded and went over to the sink. He grabbed the mask for Patton and the sheets of aluminum foil from under the sink. “Mask on, kid, it smells okay but you shouldn’t be sniffing it,” Virgil held up his finger. Patton nodded excitedly and slipped the mask loops over his ears and pushed down the metal bar to fit his nose.

“Can I have some black, too? I wanna look like your brother,” Patton looked up to Virgil who froze and looked at Patton wide-eyed.

“… Sure,” Virgil nodded weakly and pulled out all the things he needed and snapped on some disposable gloves. He was surprised, flattered, sad, happy, and generally conflicted about that. But he was dying a kid’s hair without permission. It’s the exact right time to go ham despite weird feelings. “Do you just want streaks through the top of your hair or something?”

“Yeah!” Patton said excitedly and kicked his feet and swayed.

“Sit still, bud, I don’t want to dye your head,” Virgil chuckled. “Okay, this will feel gross,” Virgil warned and smeared coconut oil around Patton’s hairline and on his ears. Patton shivered in displeasure but didn’t argue. Virgil grabbed a small handful of the blue from his prepped supplies and started carefully working it in. He wrapped the first part in tinfoil and moved on quickly. Sometimes Virgil blended two colors together in Patton’s hair to make a nice fade, but he also wanted to get more colors in so Patton to be excited about. He slid the black around the edges and in the back, sometimes blending color with the black to fade as well, trying to do something similar to how his hair was done. Eventually, all of Patton’s curls were folded up in tinfoil.

“All right, pipsqueak, we’ve got to kill an hour while it sets. Do you want to watch some TV?” Virgil asked, stepping back and pulling off his gloves to toss in the trash.

“Can we wipe off the coconut oil?” Patton pulled his lips to the side and looked up to a piece of tinfoil on his forehead.

“It’s better if we don’t, sorry. You can take off the mask, though. Let’s watch Pokémon,” Virgil opened the bathroom door and motioned for Patton to exit. Patton took off the mask and threw it out before he slowly exited and looked around the hall out of habit. Seeing no one, he headed into the living room. “Sit on the floor so we don’t accentually dye the couch,” Virgil motioned and Patton plopped down on the floor. Virgil grabbed the remote and pulled his leg up under him while he sat down and leaned against the couch arm.

Patton was quickly enthralled in the show. Virgil had been showing him the earlier seasons since Patton seemed to really enjoy the strange 90s humor, but it was absolutely the intro he was the most into. Patton started singing along with the intro as soon as the TV blared out with a declaration of wanting to be the very best. Virgil looked around carefully, double-checking that they were still home alone, and joined him in singing along. Patton beamed and swayed while he sang and leaned forward with interest despite the slow pace of the show. Patton enjoyed the current dadaist humor, but his sense of humor definitely seemed to be from decades in the past from everyone else in his age group.

“I haven’t seen that Remus kid in a few days, where’s he been?” Virgil asked curiously while the characters ate… ‘hamburgers’. Pattom seemed amused by that.

“His parents’re makin’ him learn violin. He doesn’t wanna play it. I dunno why they’re bein’ mean ‘bout it,” Patton pouted and looked over to Virgil with an innocent naive face.

“Sometimes things that are _bad_ … are _forced_ ,” Virgil said meme-wise with a small shrug. Things like not letting kids control their own hair. “If I’m not grounded, I’ll take you guys to the nice park and get some ice cream so he can do something fun. Remus strikes me as a percussion guy, and that park has those drums and bells along with the big climbing web,” Virgil smiled at him.

“That’d be so _fun_!” Patton beamed back and bounced a bit, making the tinfoil bob on his head.

“Hey, careful, don’t move your head too much,” Virgil held out his hands, not wanting the tinfoil to slip off and make a mess. 

“Sorry,” Patton looked downcast.

“No, it’s all good, Patty, don’t worry. Look, isn’t the dress James is in pretty?” Virgil pointed to the TV and Patton looked over and his eyes sparkled.

“He looks like a princess!” Patton said in awe. Patton was sucked back into the TV after that. Virgil kept an eye on the time and curled up on the couch. He wasn’t sure how much trouble he’d get in for doing this, but Virgil really thought there was nothing wrong with it. He wished he could have dyed his hair at Patton’s age. Then maybe he wouldn’t have spent so long scowling at his own reflection and had something to brighten his day when he needed it the most. He enjoyed ridiculous TV antics while he curled up around his legs, sometimes worrying his lip and picking at his nails nervously.

“Washing time,” Virgil announced at the end of the third episode and paused the TV.

“We can come back, right?” Patton said hopefully, looking longingly at the paused screen splash.

“Yeah. This will take longer than last time, sorry bud,” Virgil said consolingly.

“It’s okay when you wash my hair,” Patton nodded resolutely. “It doesn’t hurt so much.”

“Thanks,” Virgil smiled down at him and Patton scuttled like a crab off to the bathroom, feeling inspired by the Krabby in the episode splash. Virgil chuckled and shook his head, following the tinfoil crab to the bathroom. Virgil handed Patton the stained towel to put his face on and pulled a jug of vinegar out from under the sink.

“Water will be cold this time, heads up,” Virgil said in warning. Patton nodded into the towel at the edge of the tub and Virgil slipped on a fresh pair of gloves and started extracting tinfoil from Patton’s hair and rinsing carefully.

The conditioning effect of the dye let Virgil’s fingers run through smoothly as he rinsed out the various colors from Patton’s hair and wiped off the coconut oil. Patton waited patiently while Virgil diligently rinsed until it was clear. Sometimes he would kick his feet or drum against the towel, but he mostly sat still. Once the water was finally rinsing nearly clear, Virgil slowly poured the vinegar over Patton’s dyed hair and rinsed it out. Patton made a noise of disgust at the smell, but it cleared quickly. Virgil peeled the towel from Patton’s hands carefully and stared drying it off. He did the same method from earlier to keep the curls from snagging, though his hair was much more pliable this time around with added moisture.

Once Patton’s hair was damp instead of dry, he folded the towel vertically and laid it over Patton’s shoulders and pushed him over to the mirror.

“Well?” Virgil asked as Patton’s face popped up in the mirror. Patton shrieked in delight and Virgil had to cover his ears and flinched. “Let’s not yell in the tiny room,” Virgil hissed and snapped next to his ear.

“Sorry!” Patton whispered and shrank back, looking concerned.

“It’s okay. Does that mean you like it?” Virgil asked nervously, picking at his nails again. “Did I do a bad job?” Virgil looked at Patton's hair and chewed his lip.

“No! No, no, no! I love it, I love it, I love it!” Patton announced so quickly his words blurred together and bounced up and down, the now very colorful hair flopping around with him.

“Oh… okay. Cool,” Virgil sighed in relief. “Let’s get back to Pokémon, yeah?” Virgil asked quietly and Patton nodded excitedly and bust out of the bathroom, literally jumping for joy while he headed to the living room. Virgil quickly cleaned up behind them, trashing the tinfoil and putting away all the of dyeing supplies.

Patton was already sitting on the floor with his legs crossed and spiritedly vibrating and jiggling in delight when Virgil came back out. He hadn’t started back up the show, waiting for Virgil. Virgil smiled at him and sat down, starting the new episode. Patton belted out the theme again along with the singer and Virgil sighed contentedly, watching Patton’s arms flail and sway to the song. Patton was clearly ecstatic and hopefully, that was worth it. He didn’t know how long he was going to get grounded for.

“Hello, my darlings!” Roman announced cheerily as he entered the house. Virgil swallowed and steeled himself. Roman froze when his eye’s caught Patton’s hair. He stared at is disbelievingly for a moment, even going so far as rubbing his eyes. Virgil held himself tightly and watched carefully for Roman’s reaction. “Patton… your hair is different…” Roman said curiously, coming closer to look, but still keeping a few feet of distance like Patton preferred.

“Yup! Virge dyed it!” Patton said happily and turned to face Roman. “Isn’t it awesome?” He asked excitedly, shaking his fists in front of his chest in excitement. Roman looked curiously to Virgil who couldn’t help but flinch back when their eyes met. Roman looked back to Patton’s hair.

“Did you pick those colors?” Roman asked curiously.

“Yeah! But I want more colors, I wanna whole rainbow!” Patton said brightly to Roman and got up, crawling on to the couch and putting his head next to Virgil’s. “Now we look like brothers!” Patton announced happily and Virgil couldn’t help but smile a little despite his trepidation.

“So this was _your_ idea, Patton?” Roman stood up straight and rubbed his chin, looking amused now.

“Uh-huh! I tried to do it myself but Virge helped me instead,” Patton nodded, still beaming in delight.

“And that’s Virgil’s hair dye? The one with the fox on it?” Roman inquired, raising an eyebrow.

“Yeah,” Virgil replied and swallowed. “No harsh chemicals or bleach involved,”

“You did a _marvelous_ job,” Roman smiled. “You look fantastic, Patton. Just like Virgil’s little brother,” Roman got a little choked up and Virgil rolled his eyes dramatically. It took Patton a second to process but he squeaked in delight and shimmied on the spot.

“You promise?” Patton nearly yelled in excitement.

“I promise,” Roman drew an ‘x’ over his heart and smiled at them. Virgil looked up to Roman curiously, not sure what happening. “I’ll talk to Logan, okay? You’re not in trouble, Virgil,” Roman nodded kindly at him.

“I’m… I’m not?” Virgil asked doubtingly, sitting up a little.

“Why would Virge be in trouble?” Patton furrowed his eyebrows and looked between the two.

“He did something he probably shouldn’t have and didn’t discuss it with us first,” Roman said plainly.

“It’s something I really believe in,” Virgil said seriously. “I think it’s a good thing,” He added, shooting a glance at Patton who was still buzzing with zeal despite the confusion. Roman hummed in agreement and shrugged lightly.

“I think I have to agree, but Logan might need some assistance,” Roman mused, rubbing his chin.

“Huh?” Patton stared at Virgil curiously.

“You think if I help with dinner it’ll help?” Virgil asked, much more weakly.

“It couldn’t hurt,” Roman shrugged lightly.

“Okay,” Virgil hopped up from the couch. “Pat, how do you feel about chicken alfredo?” He asked as he walked towards the kitchen. He was kind of hoping one of Logan’s favourites would help. Just getting Logan to let Virgil dye his hair was an event, and Virgil was years older than Patton is right now.

“I love chicken alfredo! Can I help?” Patton asked brightly, also jumping off the couch and following behind Virgil.

“You can help but no doing anything without me telling you to,” Virgil held up a finger. He didn’t need another cup of lemon juice incident. Or the pile of pepper incident. Or that complete debacle with the mac and cheese. Roman followed them into the kitchen and sat at the table, watching Virgil pull things out. He leaned against his arm and grinned while Virgil nervously got things ready to cook.

“Logan loves you, Virgil, he’ll forgive you,” Roman said softly and Virgil paused.

“I’m holding you to that,” Virgil said pointedly. “You’ll help me make the sauce, right?”

“Of course, my little dark umbra, I assumed I would. I’ll help keep an eye on the _master chef_ , too,” Roman chuckled at Patton who was now playing with a dry noodle. Virgil smiled weakly and nodded to Roman. Roman got up from the table and pulled Virgil into a hug, and he nervously looked up at Roman and hugged him back.

“You really promise he'll forgive me?” Virgil asked, barely above a whisper.

“I _really_ promise,” Roman smiled softly. “Patton, don’t eat that dry noodle,” Roman said and Patton froze with the noodle nearly in his mouth, putting it down quickly on the counter.

“I wasn’t gonna!” Patton shot, looking away from Roman and pulling at the big loose shirt.

“Of course, my prince. Would you get me the parmesan out of the fridge so I can start grating it?” Roman smiled knowingly and Patton smiled and headed over to the fridge. Virgil chuckled and shook his head lightly, hoping he was never that obvious of a liar and let go of Roman to get back to preparing the water. Virgil exhaled and let go of some worry. Papa had his back. Things would be okay. He was even looking forward to going to the park. He wanted to see what Remus would put in his ice cream. That kid could eat anything.


	9. To Dreamland

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Patton has a nightmare.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Words: 1,253  
> Warnings: Nightmares, spooky  
> Characters: Logan, Roman, Patton  
> Universe: Whole Castle  
> Genre: Found Family Fluff  
> Additional Tags: Sleep, comfort

Logan was sipping his valerian tea while reading a recent study about methods to increase comprehension in classroom settings. Teaching math meant that Logan often struggled with keeping the student’s attention and engaging the class, so he tried to stay on top of the current information. Roman leaned against him, reading a romance novel and sometimes giggling airily to himself.

The pair had already sent Virgil off to bed, much to his many objections, and the house was quiet and comfortable. A weak rain pattered against the windowpane, but there was no other sound that filled the air between the quiet jovial noises and fluttering of pages. Roman yawned widely and covered his mouth, leaning hard against Logan after a lengthy period of contented reading. He continued reading, determined to finish his chapter before bedtime. Logan had other plans, however, and leaned over to kiss Roman on the forehead.

“I am headed to bed, darling,” Logan said softly and hugged Roman around the shoulders while he read.

“But what if I get cold?” Roman objected to losing his wonderfully cozy source of body heat.

“That’s what bookmarks are for. The ability to follow your spouse to bed,” Logan smirked and pulled himself off the couch with a tired grunt and a small creaking protest from his knees.

“But he’s almost confessed his love!” Roman objected sourly, pouting up to Logan. “Just a little longer?”

“I love you, but a consistent sleep schedule is important so I can tolerate petulant teenagers continuously,” Logan said humorously and pulled up Roman’s hand to brush a kiss against his knuckles. Roman turned pink but pushed his lower lip out at Logan nonetheless. Logan just smiled at him and went to the kitchen to rinse out his mug before heading to bed. Roman shifted over to where Logan was seated to steal his residual body warmth while he worked on finishing this chapter. He really wanted to see the confession.

Through a series of unfortunate circumstances, the protagonist hadn’t confessed yet and Roman stubbornly stayed up for that sweet, sweet gay vindication, though he fought yawns and heavy eye-lids to continue forward. He just wanted them to kiss! The rain had settled while he pushed ahead reading, and the house was eerily silent without it. Sometimes he could even make out a particularly loud snore from Logan even though his snoring wasn’t that bad. Roman pulled his legs up for warmth and continued reading.

A weak whining sound broke through the silence and Roman stiffened. It was a little spooky, echoing down the hall and across the living room. He wasn’t sure if his tired and over-active mind was playing tricks on him in the dark. The kiss _had_ to be a few pages away at this point, so he persevered when he didn’t hear any further noise. He told himself he must be overtired.

Another sniffle and a whimpering sound carried through the silent house and Roman shot upright in a panic. It was extremely spooky at first, his sleep-addled brain creating ghosts in a house they were the first owners over. Logic won over that it couldn’t possibly be a ghost, but it scared him for a completely different reason, now. One of the boys was upset. Roman quickly slid in a bookmark and got up, heading into the hall. He followed the sound to Patton’s room and creaked open the door slowly to see Patton illuminated by the night-light crying into his stuffed rabbit doll.

“My prince,” Roman quietly cooed and Patton stiffened, looking up slowly and then quickly hiding under his covers. Roman’s heart broke a little, but he headed in any way and sat on the edge of the bed a safe distance from Patton. The last thing Roman wanted to do was spook him like Patton accidentally did to Roman with his muted cries in the middle of the night. “What’s wrong, Patton?” He asked genially, waiting patiently for an answer instead of pushing for one as he longed to while Patton hid under the sheets.

Roman was exhausted, fully aware that was his own fault, but he knew he could get testy when he was short on sleep. He also just really wanted that gay kiss and confession he had been waiting for the entire book for and a little petty part of him wanted to pick back up the book and read while he waited so he could get to bed faster. But Roman sat there quietly, waiting for an answer that hopefully, Patton would feel well enough to give soon. Patton’s head slowly popped back out of the sheets and he looked morosely at Roman in the pale light of the room.

“I had a nightmare. ‘m okay,” Patton muttered into his blankets, not able to meet Roman’s eyes as he finally confessed why he was awake so late. “I didn’ mean t’bother you,” He whispered.

“No, my darling prince. You didn’t bother me. In fact, you should wake someone to help you instead of suffering alone at night. Nothing hurts my heart more than to think of you crying alone,” Roman consoled Patton softly, offering him a reassuring smile. “Did you want to talk about it?”

“No,” Patton shook his head and drew small circles in the sheets with his fingers, balling up under a soft blanket and holding his rabbit plush tight to his chest.

“What would you like, then? How about some warm tea and honey?” Roman offered, hampered slightly by a yawn.

“Please don’t leave,” Patton whispered.

“You want me to stay in here with you?” Roman furrowed his eyebrows. Patton just nodded weakly. “Where would you like me to be?” He asked, feeling a little confused. Patton was only recently capable of consistently holding hands with Roman or Logan and Roman wasn’t under the impression Patton would want anyone close to him while he was vulnerable like this. “I suppose I can sit in the chair,” He muttered quietly. Patton moved closer to the edge of the bed and looked pleadingly at Roman. “You… want me to lie down with you?” Roman asked, feeling unsure. It took Patton a moment to work up the courage, but eventually, he nodded solemnly. Roman swallowed for a moment, trying to maintain his composure. “Anything for you, sweet prince,” Roman smiled softly and kicked off his house slippers to crawl across the mattress and slip under the sheets.

The twin bed was easily taken up by Roman, and as hard as he tried he couldn’t give Patton the amount of room he normally wanted. Patton sniffled a few times in the dark and Roman murmured a small soothing lullaby under his breath. Without being able to directly combat what was scaring Patton, helping him get back to sleep seemed like the next best thing. Patton yawned and laid back down, holding his rabbit doll tight and sometimes shooting not-so-furtive-glances Roman’s way. Little by little, Patton shifted closer to Roman until he was curled into Roman’s side and Roman had to fight to keep his relaxing tone as he quietly sang.

Soft, tiny, unbelievably adorable breathing eventually came from Patton instead of sparse sniffles and he melted into the mattress next to Roman. Roman smiled, his heart feeling overwhelmingly full, and closed his eyes. The book could wait. He had something much more wonderful and much more important right here. Roman sighed with contentment and let the exhaustion take him off to the land of dreams.


	10. Trambopoline

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roman buys the family a Trampoline.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Words: 1,512  
> Warnings: Arguing  
> Characters: Logan, Roman, Virgil, Janus, Patton  
> Universe: Whole Castle  
> Genre: Family Fluff  
> Additional Tags: Logan Sanders is Extra about Safety

“It’s dangerous, Roman, why did you order this?” Logan sighed and rubbed his face, lightly kicking the giant box on the patio in front of them.

“The occupational therapist recommended we try to get him more physical to help out with his development, and he doesn’t enjoy walking or biking,” Roman said a little sheepishly, looking away and rubbing his arm nervously.

“You are _clearly_ hiding something,” Logan narrowed his eyes at Roman and took his hand.

“So, Virgil _might have_ convinced me. He said he refused to stop throwing Patton on his bed and I don’t want them to break the frame. I know Patton is small, but… well, Virgil was very convincing, he had plenty of reasons and you should have _seen_ his face,” Roman admitted, thinking of Virgil affectionately.

“He’s been… throwing Patton?” Logan’s eyes narrowed at Roman. “And you didn’t _stop_ him?” Logan said accusatorily.

“Whoops,” Roman bit his lip nervously. “You weren’t supposed to know about that,” Roman said quietly and wrung his fingers.

“Roman,” Logan said evenly, looking frustrated and tapping his foot on the concrete patio.

“You should hear his cute little scream when Virgil throws him! It’s adorable and the occupational therapist says it’s healthy and Patton is okay,” Roman said defensively. “It’ll be much safer with the trampoline!” Roman added hopefully.

“How! He could fall off and break his arm, he’s still very small,” Logan shot, motioning to the giant box and glowering at it.

“It’s got a net and safety features, Logan, I’m not an idiot. I’ve seen Patton skid into the wall on the bed,” Roman rolled his eyes.

“ _Roman_!” Logan shot louder. Roman frowned at Logan, who swallowed and looked sadly to Roman. “I’m sorry for yelling. I hope the children didn’t hear,” Logan exhaled in frustration. “Please tell me he wasn’t hurt,” Logan took off his glasses and cleaned them on his shirt while he fumed.

“He was fine, he didn’t even cry. Not even a bump,” Roman sighed, stroking Logan’s hand with his thumb. “I didn’t want you to worry, so I didn’t mention it. I don’t like discouraging Virgil from spending time with Patton and they both enjoy it,” Roman explained quietly.

“All right. The netting is thick and safe?” Logan asked tiredly.

“According to the reviews it is. We couldn’t afford one of the high-end ones, they’re absolutely ridiculously priced,” Roman huffed in frustration. “But most of the reviews are high. There’s even a video of someone taking a knife to the net and it not tearing easily,” Roman added, feeling a little relieved.

“All right. I suppose I can accept that. But we’re returning it if Patton gets even close to hurting himself,” Logan held up his finger and pointed menacingly at Roman.

“ _Fine_ ,” Roman rolled his eyes and huffed. “Getting some minor battle damage as a kid is good for you, too, you know. A skid knee isn’t the end of the world,” Roman flipped out his free hand. Logan sighed forcefully again, sliding his glasses back on his face.

“I feel like they’ve both had enough damage for a lifetime and do not want to cause any further pain,” Logan said quietly. “I wouldn’t prefer they even got a _paper cut_ under our watch,” Logan squeezed Roman’s hand and let go. “And I will not be a part of building that potential death trap,” Logan pointed to the giant box.

“That’s fine, darling. I understand,” Roman leaned forward and kissed Logan on the cheek. Logan smiled slightly and went inside. Roman stared at the giant box for a moment, trying to figure out how to get this monstrosity to the backyard. Roman grunted as he began sliding the box across the concrete path to the driveway to go around to the fence gate.

“You got the trampoline!” Virgil ran up from behind Roman and helped him propel it forward. Angling it was a group effort with a symphony with annoyed grunts and huffs as they fought the giant box through the grass into the backyard.

“This will be… an event,” Roman exhaled and wiped his forehead when they finally got the box close the patio to unbox the components.

“Uh, _yeah_. Let me ask Janus and see if he wants to come over and help,” Virgil huffed a tired breath and fanned himself with his hoodie as he pulled out his phone. Virgil texted Janus while Roman went inside for the toolbox and a box cutter, though he had to go all the way around since the back door wasn’t unlocked.

Roman came back outside and sliced open the box, Virgil helping him slide out the pieces and position them so that they could possibly build this thing. Virgil started flipping through the building guide while Roman stared in confusion at the pieces that were coming out. The professional building cost extra, and Roman bemoaned not having the money for it as he surveyed this massive pain in the ass.

Janus came over to help, and they attracted a wild Patton who watched with interest from the shade of the house’s awning. Logan came out with a hex tool that they needed that wasn’t in the tool kit and ended up staying to oversee the process, fussing over minor details. Logan was the most adept at understanding the manual, though, and the amount of bickering and bafflement dropped nearly to zero with Logan directing Roman, Virgil, and Janus as they took on different tasks.

Despite Virgil and Patton’s whining they wanted to jump on as soon as it was complete, Logan insisted on checking on the safety and the tightness of the components and even the stability of the ladder first. Virgil and Janus busied themselves with amusing an impatient and fussy Patton by playing tag in the yard, instead. Roman was not so happy about being ‘home base’ and getting accidentally tousled while kids ran around him, but Patton’s excited and devious giggle and Janus’s relieved sigh were more than enough to make him tolerate it.

“It’s all clear. But do continue to be careful, regardless,” Logan warned as he unzipped the entrance. Virgil swept up Patton with a maniacal cackle and ran up to the trampoline. “Virgil!” Logan objected as Virgil climbed up a step and literally threw Patton inside the net.

“Yeet the child to calibrate his GPS!” Virgil cried out and Patton screeched with laughter as he bounced on the trampoline and safely bounded against the net and back down on the trampoline.

“ _Virgil_!” Logan narrowed his eyes at Virgil, but Virgil just cackled at him. Roman put his arm on Logan’s shoulder and smiled.

“Patton’s fine, see?” Roman pointed to Patton already joyfully rebounding on the trampoline, screaming with delight when he got launched up high by Janus’s determined jump when he first entered the trampoline. Logan sighed and zipped up the entrance, observing them carefully.

“I don’t know about all three of them being in there,” Logan grumbled.

“Virgil is helping Patton stay upright, see?” Roman motioned to Virgil helping Patton who was wobbling on the uneven surface. “They’re being safe and giving each other room. Do you want to help me make some lemonade? I always overdo it with the sugar,” Roman kissed Logan on the cheek. Logan sighed and watched them for a moment longer.

“Boys?” Logan called out, and all three stopped and looked to Logan. “Be careful, please,” He pleaded.

“We’ll be fine, dad,” Virgil rolled his eyes and jumped, launching Patton off the trampoline with a squeaky scream.

“I suppose I should start dinner. Janus, are you opposed to pork tenderloin?” Logan asked loudly over Virgil’s maniacal laugh as he scooped up Patton and jumped in tandem with Janus to jump higher.

“No,” Janus called, pushing off the trampoline hard with Virgil. Patton beamed with delight and Logan winced with the height they were gaining together. Virgil was holding on to Patton tight and Patton was gripping Virgil’s hoodie, so it didn’t appear as Virgil would drop him. Roman squeezed Logan’s shoulder.

“They’ll be okay, darling. A bump here or there is all right, and they’re watching out for each other. You can stay out here and keep an eye on them if it’ll help you feel better,” Roman said consolingly. Logan watched them with furrowed eyebrows for a bit longer, crossing his arms. Virgil laughed and clambered through the net, quickly re-zipping it behind him. He basically tackle-hugged Roman and Logan together.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you!” Virgil’s words ran into each other and he beamed up at them before backing up quickly. He coughed awkwardly and rubbed his arm for a moment, then climbed back up and rejoined Patton and Janus on the trampoline. Virgil took Patton’s hands and jumped together with him. Logan’s face softened, and he sighed contentedly. Roman leaned in to hug Logan from the side and rested his head on Logan’s shoulder while they both watched the kids jumping with renewed vigor, the encroaching evening air filled with crickets and ecstatic laughter.


	11. Trambopoline Part II: Electric Boogaloo

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Logan tries to recover after grading midterms.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> prompt from @kanene-yaaay-o-retorno's message
> 
> Words: 592  
> Warnings: Food  
> Characters: Logan, Virgil, Janus, Patton, Remus  
> Universe: Whole Castle  
> Genre: Family Fluff  
> Additional Tags: Logan Sanders is Extra about Safety

Logan sipped at his coffee with an exhausted exhale. He had been grading tests all morning since he had run out of time during the week. Logan appreciated the hot coffee that had a secret scoop of caramel mixed in. The coffee had the boost he needed to deal with the afternoon. He wished Roman was here to help today, but he had a show. Logan wanted a book and a bath and Roman’s truly stupendous cooking. But he would see Roman tonight. Perhaps he would suggest eating out or getting delivery. Logan took a deep breath of the sweet caramel coffee and released some stress. It had been an overwhelming week for him but he knew things would be okay. Logan leaned back in the chair and enjoyed his drink.

The boys laughed boisterously in the backyard. Janus and Remus were here playing with the boys, which was wonderful, but he had to admit he’d like a quieter afternoon. He could try to convince them all to settle down for a movie later with popcorn. Hearing their cackles from the yard was pleasant, though. It was amiable to know they were happy and getting some vitamin D. Virgil and Janus agreed to watch Patton and Remus and making sure they didn’t get into anything dangerous, and Logan appreciated that. He wouldn’t have been able to finish grading if they had refused. Perhaps he could reward them with some cookies. If he remembered correctly, Janus liked thumbprints with raspberry jam. Butter cookies were easy to make, so it sounded like a superb idea.

He glanced out back and checked on the kids. Remus and Patton jumped on the trampoline and Virgil and Janus chatted on the bench under the awning right now. Everything seemed to be alright. Patton and Remus were incapable of getting considerable height on the trampoline alone. He wasn’t worried about much other than accidentally bumping into each other. Remus bounded off the net into the middle of the trampoline while Patton clapped on the side. It looked safe for now.

Logan worked on making raspberry thumbprints for the kids, as compensation for Virgil and Janus for monitoring Patton and Remus, and also as a reward for being good for the babysitters. He enjoyed baking and so did his sweet tooth, so he and Roman would enjoy them, too. The activity of performing a task for the benefit of everyone sounded like a wonderful way to help reset and relax after the stress of midterms. He hoped his students participated in something similar. They did well, and he looked forward to handing the results back. They deserved a break and recovery time.

After he set the cookies in the oven and Logan wiped up, he settled down on the recliner in the living room. The sun outside shone brightly today, so he should probably have the kids come in soon for a drink, but for now, he enjoyed a book in the calm atmosphere. The scent of the raspberry jam already filled the house, and it smelled delightful.

Logan paused for a moment with a jarring realization. Children being quiet is a sign that something is occurring. Logan got up and hurried to the back door and opened it to see Virgil stomping down on the trampoline and propelling Janus higher while Remus vibrated with excitement and Patton held on to Remus’s shirt with worry. Janus let out a victorious cry as he peaked just above the protective netting.

“ _Virgil_!” Logan said firmly and crossed his arms.

“Oh, _sh-_ ”


	12. Mrs. Bunnyface Approves

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Janus said self-preservation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Words: 1,620  
> Warnings: Panic, Crying, Food  
> Characters: Patton, Virgil, Janus  
> Universe: Whole Castle  
> Genre: Family Fluff  
> Additional Tags: Caring older siblings

“No, I need orange pieces and not yellow, Patty,” Virgil said absentmindedly. Patton pursed his lips and dug around in the container more. Patton pulled out a new piece and put it in front of Virgil and looked to Virgil hopefully. “That’s perfect,” Virgil smiled and ruffled Patton’s hair with a smile. “Do you want to help me with this?” Virgil asked, handing Patton two pieces stuck together that he couldn’t get apart. “There’s a little tool in the bin for separating these two,” Virgil explained.

“’Kay,” Patton said and nodded with determination.

“Did you finish the math homework, Virgil? I’m stuck on the second to last question,” Janus said plainly, more focused on their build than the question.

“I didn’t finish it yet. If you stay for dinner, dad’ll probably help us afterword and give you a ride home,” Virgil offered. “He seems to enjoy doing it for some reason,” Virgil shrugged, but he felt proud of his dad’s dependability.

“I do like Roman’s cooking. It’s his night, right?” Janus asked, interested in the prospect.

“Yeah, papa’s making some fancy chicken thing I think and something plainer for Patty,” Virgil replied, clicking more pieces into place.

“I did it!” Patton pipped up, holding the two pieces up with excitement.

“Awesome job, little dude. How about you put them right here?” Virgil pointed with a piece to the spot the guide wanted them. Patton nodded happily and placed them on the build. He struggled a little with aligning but felt very satisfied with himself when he succeeded. “Do you want to look for white pieces or place pieces?” Virgil asked with a soft smile.

“Keep digging! I like the noise,” Patton said buoyantly.

“It is a delightful sound,” Janus hummed in agreement. Virgil’s phone rang, and he leaned back to fish it out of his skinny jeans and pressed the screen.

“Yo,” Virgil answered and paused, waiting for the response. “Woah, El, slow down,” Virgil said, holding up his palm. Patton looked up in confusion. “Not you, little guy,” Virgil put his hand over the bottom of the phone and whispered. He nodded pointlessly as he listened. Patton seemed satisfied and returned to his quest for pieces. “Son of a… Uh, hold on. Pat’s right here and I probably shouldn’t answer that next to him. Uh, Janus, sorry, would you mind keeping an eye on him for me?” Virgil asked pleadingly.

“Is it more…” Janus trailed off, glancing to Patton.

“Yeah. It is. Patty doesn’t need to hear this stuff,” Virgil said, tilting his head towards Patton.

“Go ahead. You know my opinion on the subject,” Janus agreed with a nod.

“Yeah, I’ll let them know,” Virgil nodded back and got up from his spot. He walked off into his room and closed the door behind him. Janus looked over to Patton who was animatedly digging through the bucket for white pieces for the build they were creating.

“We need the 2 by 6 pieces in white,” Janus said, pointing to the guide, tapping at the picture. Patton narrowed his eyes, trying to focus on the guide, but he looked confused. Janus dug through the small pile of white pieces and pulled out the required piece. “This one,” He said, handing it over to Patton. Patton nodded with determination and went digging.

Janus leaned and glanced over to Virgil’s room curiously, but kept building. The bin of blocks said it was 4+ and he wasn’t sure why Patton needed watching, but it wasn’t unlike Virgil to be overly cautious. Patton hummed happily while he pulled out the pieces he could find. After a pulling out more and a few fruitless digs, Patton shifted to dig through the white pieces he picked out on the table to separate the 2 by 6 pieces. While Patton was trying to put back a piece into the bin, he knocked over his cup of juice. The lid popped off, and it dumped onto the table. Janus shot up quickly and ran to get a towel.

When Janus returned and started wiping it up, Patton was strangely frozen. Janus blinked in confusion a few times and finished wiping everything clean. The spill wasn’t major, though he had to dry a few wet pieces. It barely got on the floor, which was blessedly easy to clean. Janus folded up the towel and sat back down on the floor. Patton was still fixed in place, staring blankly ahead.

“Um, It’s all right? Everything is fine,” Janus said consolingly. Patton’s lip quivered a few times before he backed up into the couch and balled up tight, pulling his limbs to himself tight. Patton started shaking and a small sob broke out. “Patton? It’s… okay. It was just some juice,” Janus said, turning to face Patton and holding out his hand. “Patton? It’s really alright, I promise,” Janus pleased, but Patton kept crying. “Can you tell me what’s wrong, then?” He implored gently.

“I made a mess and I’m gonna get punished!” Patton sobbed into his legs and held on tight, rocking slightly as he wept.

“Who do you think will hurt you?” Janus asked curiously. He wasn’t sure where this was coming from. Patton cried for a moment longer before responding.

“P-parents,” Patton hiccuped as he replied, rubbing his face against his knees.

“Your parents aren’t here. I won’t tell them,” Janus said. “No one will hurt you, I promise,” Janus moved closer and spoke softly to Patton.

“They’ll find out,” Patton sobbed, shaking his head.

“We’ll hide all the evidence, okay? How about I wash the towel and refill your drink?” Janus offered. Patton looked up at Janus weakly and blinked a few times.

“That’s not right,” He sniffled.

“If it makes you happy, then it’s a good thing. In my opinion, anyway,” Janus said resolutely. “No one will hurt you and no one will know, I won’t tell,” Janus reassured him. Patton rubbed his faced on his sleeve and nodded, and Janus hastily got up to take the towel and cup to the kitchen. He rinsed out the rag and chucked it in the laundry room to dry and wiped off the cup and refilled it halfway. Janus put the cup back on the table right where it was. Patton smiled feebly and another little tear fell.

“You think it’ll work?” Patton asked weakly.

“I know it will work. You won’t be in any trouble and I’ll never tell a soul,” Janus said resolutely, miming zipping his lips and tossing away the key. Patton smiled weakly and crawled back over to the table. He grabbed it and drank a sip before putting it back on the table. Patton nearly rubbed his nose on his sleeve, but Janus quickly got a tissue and held it in his face. Patton took it with a small nod and blew his nose. He rubbed this eyes and yawned lightly. He slumped tiredly and returned to digging through the pile, but he struggled to pick pieces. Janus frowned and continued on the build, though he was moving slower and distractedly, casting glances at Patton.

“Ugh,” Virgil groaned and came out of his bedroom. “That… guy,” Virgil ran his hand through his hair in frustration. “El listened this time, I think,” Virgil said, feeling unsure.

He paused where he stood on the way back to the table, glancing at Janus’s face in confusion. Janus switched to looking disaffected swiftly and shrugged. Virgil chewed his lip and hummed in disbelief for a moment and returned to his spot at the coffee table. He turned to Patton and examined his face, which was puffy and his eyes were red and his heart stopped. “Patty, are you okay?” Virgil blurted out in worry.

“He’s just tired. Right, Patton?” Janus said cooly and Patton looked up to Janus. Janus winked and Patton nodded slowly, nervously chewing his lip.

“Oh, buddy, let’s switch to a movie so you can lay on the couch,” Virgil said softly and Patton nodded with a small pout. Virgil scooped the loose pieces into the lid of the bin and laid it on top of the container, shifting the build carefully over into it and move the bin out of the way before picking up the remote and tossing it to Janus. Virgil stood up and leaned down to pick up Patton. He paused with his arms out and waited for Patton to nod before scooping him up and sitting on the couch with him.

“What tickles your fancy, Patton?” Janus said, turning on the TV and moving to sit next to Virgil. Patton chewed his lip and looked away.

“Would Mrs. Bunnyface like Ducktales? Or maybe Sponge Bob?” Virgil asked softly and pulled the throw around Patton, who nestled in Virgil’s lap, feeling much better.

“She wants to watch Ducktales,” Patton provided. “She’s in bed, though,” Patton said quietly.

“I’ll get her,” Janus offered and got up to grab the doll hurriedly after starting the cartoon. He hurried back and got the doll off of Patton’s bed, rushing to get back to hand it to him before the intro finished. Janus slid on to the couch and handed Patton the bunny as he sat down. Patton took Mrs. Bunnyface gratefully and pulled the doll close. Virgil gave Patton a little affectionate squeeze and kissed his hair before leaning into the couch.

“Do you mind if Janus gets closer, little guy?” Virgil asked softly. Patton shook his head and kept his gaze on the screen. “Pat says it’s okay, come on,” Virgil suggested, and Janus rolled his eyes and shifted nearer, leaning a little against Virgil.

“Mrs. Bunnyface likes you, Janus,” Patton said quietly.

“Oh,” Janus breathed. “Thank you,” He whispered.


	13. Exceptions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Uncle Remy Babysits.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Words: 5,837  
> Warnings: Anxiety, food  
> Characters: Logan, Roman, Virgil, Patton, Remy, Janus, Remus  
> Universe: Whole Castle  
> Genre: Family Fluff  
> Additional Tags: Caring older siblings, Parks

“I’m perfectly capable of taking care of Patton overnight, dad,” Virgil crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes.

“It is _longer_ than overnight, we won’t be back until next evening,” Logan said evenly as he did a final check through to make sure Roman didn’t forget anything in his bag.

“I’m still able to handle him for 24 hours on my own,” Virgil objected grumpily. “What if Pat hates him? Uncle Remy’s kind of… intense sometimes,” Virgil flipped out his hand with annoyance.

“We’re more comfortable leaving you with adult help if you need anything. And you know my brother loves to spoil you, I’m sure he and Patton will get along just fine. I already informed him about Patton’s need for space and clear consent with touching. Remy knows your triggers and the one we found for Patton. But I’m not worried about Patton’s with you around. You’re a wonderful brother,” Logan said kindly. Virgil turned a little pink and loosened up his arms.

“Um, fine… I’ll miss you,” Virgil mumbled. Logan noticed Roman forgot his hairbrush.

“We’ll miss both of you, too. Thank you for letting us do this,” Logan smiled, checking for anything else missing.

“It’s not like I have to give you permission for a day trip,” Virgil said flippantly.

“We don’t want to do anything that will make you uncomfortable. Your understanding was paramount in our decision for a short getaway. I do not want you to feel unloved or like a burden because we are taking a brief vacation without you and Patton,” Logan explained. Virgil nodded slowly. The thought had crossed his mind, but they had asked him just before therapy and Dr. Picani had helped him out. Virgil hoped Dr. Picani did the same with Pat because Patton wouldn’t have brought it up.

“You probably just want to bone,” Virgil said glibly.

“How dare you, Detective Diaz, I am your _superior officer_!” Logan quoted with less gusto than the original because he did not want to yell. Logan and Virgil laughed together about it for a minute. “Well, Roman insists it will be romantic, but it is just a bed-and-breakfast in the countryside. I’m sure I will enjoy the fresh air. The next vacation we take will include the two of you and do something much more interesting,” Logan said with a smile and held out his arms. Virgil nodded and stepped into his arms for a hug. Logan hugged him firmly and rubbed between his shoulders. “I will be a phone call away if you need me,” He added seriously.

“A, uh…. Water park would be a cool day trip,” Virgil mumbled.

“I will look into it and gather the necessary supplies,” Logan nodded quickly and headed into the bathroom to grab Roman’s brush.

“Um, thanks. I guess I won’t heckle uncle Remy too much,” Virgil grinned cheekily.

“Remy says you got along like a house on fire and you loved the axe throwing class,” Logan laughed as he came back out and packed the hairbrush.

“Um, yeah, I didn’t think he’d _actually_ take me to one, sorry,” Virgil mumbled apologetically.

“It’s fine, Virgil. The class was for your age range and you have not tried to use that skill outside of the classroom. I perhaps over-reacted,” Logan sighed. “I am aware that I can be very protective over the safety of my loved ones and I need to let things go sometimes,” He added, pulling Virgil in for another hug. “I will miss you very much,” Logan said softly.

“Give me my son,” Roman said, pulling Virgil out of Logan’s arms into a strong hug, swaying side to side. “I’ll miss you more,” Roman cooed emphatically.

“He’s also my son, Roman,” Logan rolled his eyes.

“I’m sure you hugged him plenty, it was my turn,” Roman refuted him petulantly and stuck out his tongue at Logan.

“Papa!” Virgil groaned, but he hugged him back. “I’m sure you’ll both hug me again when we see you off,” Virgil chuckled.

“Of course, we have a lack of hugs tomorrow to make up for,” Roman said brightly and released Virgil. Virgil took a deep, relieving breath after being freed from the bear hug.

“It is healthy to get multiple hugs a day, Virgil,” Logan said with amusement and patted Virgil’s shoulder affectionately. That fact made Roman pout. “Patton will surely get his required hugs from Virgil in the time being, darling, he is doing fine and getting better with his fear of adults every day,” Logan reassured him.

“He’s just so tiny and needs so much love!” Roman whined. “I changed my mind, let’s stay,” Roman said impulsively. Virgil and Logan laughed at him, and Roman pouted out his lower lip.

“No, we made reservations and paid a deposit for this. You said you wanted this after the show was done to unwind,” Logan smirked and rolled his eyes at Roman.

“I know, but I already miss my boys and we haven’t left yet,” Roman frowned and looked morosely at Logan.

“Go on, guys,” Virgil rolled his eyes. “Go, you _know_ how dad gets when his itinerary is messed with,” Virgil said, pushing Roman. Roman huffed and grabbed his bag. Virgil crossed his arms and stuck out his tongue at Roman, who rolled his eyes back at him.

“Yes, the maturity in this room has hit its peak, let us egress to the living room before someone proclaimed a ‘poopy face’ or something similar,” Logan said with bemusement and picked up his bag. He took Roman’s hand with the other and they left the bedroom, followed close behind by Virgil.

“Patton darling, we’re headed out,” Roman said softly, crouching down in the living room. Patton was sitting on the couch with a book and looked up. Logan smiled as Patton put the book down and Virgil walked over to take his hand. Virgil and Patton walked over and Roman opened his arms. Patton hesitated for a moment but he let go of Virgil’s hand and hugged Roman.

“Not forever?” Patton asked carefully.

“Just until tomorrow night, remember? I promise we’ll be back,” Roman reassured him and pulled Patton close, swaying slightly as he hugged him. Logan squatted down as well, and Patton came over to give him a hug. Logan hugged him back gently, careful with him and carded his fingers through his curls.

“You’ll be safe with Uncle Remy. Anything you can ask us for you can ask him. Virgil will help out. And you can call us anytime, okay? We love you,” Logan reminded him genially, pulling back and smiling at Patton. Patton nodded and back up to Virgil and gripped on to Virgil’s hoodie. Virgil bent down to pick him up and hold him, and Patton stepped up willingly. Roman and Logan walked outside, followed closely behind by Virgil with Patton in tow.

“We’ll miss you both, but we hope you have fun with Remy! He said he had plans, which I assume means something Logan might get mad at him for, so you can look forward to that,” Roman winked.

“I am _choosing_ to trust him for once,” Logan said sourly as he opened the trunk to put away the suitcases.

“Yeah, I’m totally believing that, dad,” Virgil laughed and shifted Patton in his arms. Patton looked with concern to the car. “They’ll be back, they promised,” Virgil soothed him.

“’Kay,” Patton exhaled, still sounding concerned.

“Oh, my darling, we promise,” Roman said and rushed over after shoving off his suitcase to Logan. “It’s just a short break to celebrate and we’ll be back before you know it,” Roman leaned in and Patton nodded, so Roman planted a kiss in his hair and hugged both Patton and Virgil together.

“Dad, papa’s gonna wuss out _again_ ,” Virgil called when Roman pulled back with a sad and sappy look on his face again.

“Dearest, it will be fine. We’ll see them again soon and you were looking forward to utilizing the free champagne at the bed-and-breakfast,” Logan said tantalizingly. Roman let go and nodded in excitement.

“Don’t get faced on mimosas, now,” Virgil grinned mischievously and Roman scoffed haughtily but smiled back at him after a moment of indignation nonetheless. Logan closed the trunk and came over to Virgil and Patton. Patton held out his arm and Logan came in to hug the pair of them.

“I’ll monitor his victorious drinking, though I doubt you are seriously concerned. I have to assume free champagne does not mean a quality product. I hope you enjoy spending time with Remy. I’m sure the reason he was delayed was he wanted to buy more presents. He should be here shortly, but if you do not see him in 30 minutes, please feel free to call him and insult him a few times. He seems to run on spite,” Logan chuckled.

“Who doesn’t?” Virgil smiled. “Um, have fun. Don’t die,” Virgil said quietly.

“We will be fine, my loves,” Roman said soothingly. “Ta-ta for now, but we will be back before you know it! I love you both,” Roman announced brightly, kissing Virgil’s hair one more time before climbing into the driver’s seat.

“I also regard you fondly,” Logan smirked. “I jest, I love you. Please remember that calling at any time is okay, even if you just want to ask us a question,” Logan reminded Virgil and also planted a kiss on his forehead, turning around to the car with a wave.

Virgil watched the car pull out of the driveway and they shared another round of waving before the car drove down the street. Virgil sighed and turned around to head inside.

“Is it dumb that I miss them already?” Virgil asked meekly.

“Nah,” Patton shook his head and hugged Virgil’s chest. “You wanna colour with me?” He asked. “Then you don’t hafta be sad,” Patton nodded sagely and Virgil smiled, lowering Patton down the floor when they returned to the living room.

“Sure, pipsqueak,” Virgil nodded. “Go get the stuff, would you?” Virgil asked and Patton nodded, bounding off into his room. Virgil texted Remy every cussword he could think of. Patton came back out with a few colouring books and a big bucket of markers. Patton dumped them all on the coffee table and Virgil sat down on the floor next to Patton, flipping through the colouring books.

“I wanna colour a puppy,” Patton said resolutely, and Virgil pulled out a book with animal line art and handed it to Patton. Virgil picked one with mandalas and flipped it open to a random one in the center.

Patton took a while to consider his options before settling on a Dalmatian and started filing in the spots with a rainbow of colours while Virgil worked on his mandala. Patton wasn’t the best at staying within the lines, but he gave his best effort, anyway. Virgil looked up at the door and sighed. Patton tapped his leg and Virgil looked over to him curiously, pausing his colouring efforts. Patton marked the back of Virgil’s hand with a lavender marker with a little giggle, and Virgil laughed. It unsettled Virgil how used to this Patton still was, but he considered that maybe it was just his anxiety being rude.

A key clicked in the door and both Patton and Virgil’s eyes shot up to the sound. Patton moving hastily to hide behind Virgil on the floor. Virgil took a deep breath and sat tall so Patton could know Virgil was here to protect him.

“Hey babes, sorry I’m late! It’s worth it, though, because your dad’s coffee maker is garbage,” Remy announced, coming in with hands full of bags.

“Hey uncle Remy,” Virgil waved, feeling concerned about the trepidation from the tiny shaking Patton behind him. “Why don’t you come around and I’ll hold you,” Virgil whispered over his shoulder.

“So where’s the pipsqueak they rant about?” Remy asked, kicking the door shut and putting down the bags in the living room. Patton slowly came around and pressed against Virgil right away, hiding under his hoodie. “Ah, the famous Patton. Don’t worry, I’ll give you your space, kid,” Remy smiled. “I got you gifts, though,” Remy added in a sing-song voice. “Well. I got everyone gifts. Logan’s gift is me replacing that POS in the kitchen because I’m not drinking out of it. But you guy’s will like it, too, I’ll show you later how to make hot cocoa with it,” Remy winked before pushing up his sunglasses and pushing a light blue bag towards them and backing off, heading over to lock the front door. He came back and kept his space, leaning on one foot, and watching patiently.

“That’s probably your gift, Patton. Remy likes to make me tear my gifts open. This is too pretty for that,” Virgil said, pulling the bag closer to Patton. Patton slowly unlatched from Virgil to peer curiously in the bag.

“This is all stuff dad will kill you over, isn’t it?” Virgil asked with bemusement as he tilted the bag for Patton to remove the tissue paper.

“Mostly, so you better use it all fast before he can make me return it,” Remy laughed and separated out a package from the rest of the pile that was wrapped multiple times. Patton squealed in delight when he pulled out a big soft blue dog doll and squeezed it in delight.

“Her name is Coco and _I love her_!” Patton declared, swaying side to side and holding the plush tight. It was massive compared to Patton.

“There’s also a tablet in here, dude,” Virgil peered into the bag and pulled out the box.

“That one’s open because I already put books and programs on it. Very educational, Logan won’t want to return that one,” Remy smirked impishly. Virgil started tearing apart the package’s layers for wrapping paper with amusement.

“You know it’s neither of our birthdays, right?” Virgil drawled playfully.

“I don’t want kids, but I want to _spoil_ them. Let me make my dreams come true, Virgil,” Remy said teasingly. “I also brought the traditional hoodie. This time’s theme is cosmos. It might be a little big on him, though…” Remy hummed in displeasure. “He’s really small, huh,” He commented, eyeballing the tiny Patton playing with the blue dog plush.

“Yeah,” Virgil agreed, ripping through layers. “How many _are_ there?” Virgil shot in frustration after another 3 fruitless layers.

“Work for it, babe,” Remy blew a kiss before leaning down and digging through one of the bags. “Hey Pat, you like matching Virge, right,” Remy asked, smiling at their matching hair and Patton froze, staring at Remy for a moment with worry. “Here you go,” Remy threw a small electric-blue star field hoodie at Patton. Patton caught it, dropping Coco and looking confused. Remy threw a purple cosmic hoodie right in Virgil’s face, and he sputtered and resisted the urge to flip Remy off. Patton bounced and slid the hoodie on.

“Put it on, put it on,” Patton grabbed at Virgil’s current hoodie and shook him.

“Hold on,” Virgil grumbled and just bit and the wrapping paper, tearing off layer by layer with his teeth. He finally made it to the center and cackled in delight. “I’m going to shoot the heck out of Janus!” He cheered and pulled out two packages of foam-ball guns and spare ammo. “Thanks, dude!” Virgil beamed at him.

“ _Put it on_!” Patton pleaded again, and Virgil chuckled while he shook his head in amusement. He pulled off his old hoodie to slide on the new one. Patton ran at and tackled Virgil over as soon as he finished pulling it down. Virgil laughed as he skid slightly on the living room floor and grabbed Patton.

“Oh, a sneak attack, huh?” Virgil held Patton in his lap and gave him a gentle noogie before tickling him in the armpit. Patton shrieked with laughter as Virgil retaliated with a tickle attack. “You never see the sneaky little worm coming!” Virgil cackled. Patton laughed so hard he became red in the face, so Virgil stopped tickling and just held him on his lap while he caught his breath. “You look great in that, little dude,” Virgil pulled him in for a hug and Patton jumped off and grabbed the big blue doll off the floor.

“Coco will watch out for sneak attacks in the future,” Patton said resolutely, staring at Virgil. Virgil took the dangling paw and shook it.

“I look forward to sneaking past you, Coco,” Virgil said smarmily and Patton smacked Virgil with Coco in the head over and over. “No!” Virgil called out and fell over dramatically. “I’ve been _defeated_!” He declared between the puppy plush pummelings.

“That’s right!” Patton cheered victoriously.

“Holy frickin’ hell y’all are so cute I’m going to get cavities,” Remy laughed as he leaned against the wall watching them.

“Shh! That’s a bad word!” Patton said, looking worried.

“It’s okay when adults say it as long as they don’t use it to insult people,” Virgil chuckled and lifted himself off the floor, starting to pick up all the wrapping garbage and wadded it up. “Are you finished colouring your dog?” Virgil asked and Patton hurriedly returned to the coffee table and returned to colouring with Coco right behind him as a pillow.

“Thanks again, dude,” Virgil smiled up to Remy as he gathered the last of the paper.

“I brought my drone so you can take photos at the park later, too. You had fun last time,” Remy offered and Virgil immediately lit up.

“Yes! Are we going to the park with the custard? Patty loves it,” Virgil asked excitedly.

“No, this one’s a little farther out but there’s a hipster ice cream place on the way that should be good,” Remy smiled.

“Patton, we get ice cream,” Virgil tilted to the side as he tempted Patton and Patton grinned widely.

“It’s done!” Patton announced. He had filled in the rest of the dog with blue and it had rainbow spots. Patton lifted up the book and showed it off. “Wha’dya think?”

“Very nice, he looks like a good friend. I like the silver collar, it’s a nice touch, it still pops against the rainbow,” Virgil nodded and Patton beamed proudly.

“The colouring job is fantastic, kid,” Remy gave a thumbs up and Patton happily started picking up his markers. “What do you say we put those hoodies to the test and head out? We’ll get dinner and hit up that park,” Remy asked and Patton looked concerned. Virgil walked over to Remy.

“Oh, um, Pat won’t play at a park without Remus. He’ll just… sit there,” Virgil whispered. “The most he’ll do is let me push him on a swing,” He added.

“This is Pat’s friend? Call up his parents and give me the phone,” Remy said, holding out his hand and flipping his fingers. Virgil quickly navigated to the contact for Remus’s parents and passed the phone over.

“Hello! Thank you. Yes, I’m aware it’s close to dinnertime. Yes, I am taking Patton to a healthy dinner and an _enrichment experience_ , you see, I thought I would extend the offer to Remus. Yes, I’m Logan’s brother, I am the acting guardian while Logan is out of town. Yes, I am trained in CPR. How did you know? Of course, I will make sure he eats his greens, the restaurant is _farm to table_ ,” Remy said in his most sycophantic voice. “Yes, you can reach me if you need to. We’ll be back after sunset. Yes, send Virgil the address and I’ll come to collect Remus. It’s chilly out, make sure he is dressed warmly, I wouldn’t want him to catch a cold,” His voice was sickly sweet. He hung up proudly and smirked at Virgil as he handed back his cell.

“What the hell was that?” Virgil asked.

“Rich people are suckers to salesmen. They never stood a chance after I clocked her,” Remy said smugly. “You want to bring that Janus kid?” Remy asked. “It only seems fair,” He added.

“But, um, that’s even more money for dinner,” Virgil said meekly.

“It’s just dinner, babe,” Remy rolled his eyes.

“At one of those fancy places?” Virgil asked incredulously.

“Oh, eff that, we’re getting chicken strips,” Remy huffed.

“Chicken strips?” Patton perked up.

“Ah, one of Mrs. Bunnyface’s favourites. Why don’t you go grab her, Pat? She can sit with us at the park, we’ll watch her,” Virgil offered and Patton nodded and ran into his room with Coco. “If he gets uncomfortable, he’s more likely to say something is wrong with her around. Otherwise, he just clams up,” Virgil whispered.

“Aren’t you too young to be a dad?” Remy laughed and messed with Virgil’s hair.

“He would only talk to me for a bit!” Virgil said defensively. “He’s doing better but he’s still scared of having wants for himself. His birth parents aren’t that great,” Virgil said bitterly.

“He’s lucky he’s got a brother like you,” Remy pulled Virgil in for a side hug.

“We’re… we’re not brothers,” Virgil said hourly.

“Oh, shut up with that. You ask them to adopt him, they’ll do it in a heartbeat, I bet they’re already thinking about how to ask you. Come on, call Janus. I want you to be able to get photos of the waterfall at sunset,” Remy said and pat Virgil’s back. Virgil looked up to him in amazement.

“What? Holy sh— uh, shiitake mushrooms,” Virgil said as Patton came back out with Mrs. Bunnyface in tow. “You have your phone?” Patton pulled his phone with the big chunky case and nodded. He put it back in his pocket and walked up to hold Virgil’s hand. “Cool,” Virgil said, then texted Janus.

“Kid, texts are too slow,” Remy groaned and reached for Virgil’s phone. Virgil pulled it back and stuck out his tongue and showed the screen of Janus’s positive response. “Fine, whatever, let’s go,” Remy rolled his eyes and turned to head out the door. He let the boys (and Mrs. Bunnyface) exit and locked up behind them. “Who’s closer? Remus or Janus?”

“Janus is just the neighborhood across the street. Remus lives in the heights,” Virgil supplied, helping Patton in the car, but he paused and pulled Patton back out. “Um, he needs to be on a booster,” Virgil looked concerned when he didn’t see one in the backseat.

“Dang, that _is_ a rich kid. Be right back, I’m sure Logan thought ahead and put it somewhere for me,” Remy said and headed back inside. Patton nervously shuffled his feet and felt Mrs. Bunnyface’s ears.

“He’s good, Pat. You know Remus, Janus, and I would let nothing happen to you and he’s taking us all out voluntarily to do something we like, right?” Virgil squeezed Patton’s hand reassuringly.

“I jus’ don’ wanna mess up,” Patton admitted and looked down sadly.

“You _won’t_ , little guy, but ask me any time and I’ll make sure, okay?” Virgil pulled his face back up to look him in the eye with his finger.

“Thanks, Virge,” Patton smiled weakly. “Will you sit with me?” He asked hopefully.

“Of course. Janus probably wants the front seat, anyway,” Virgil smiled. “He likes his space,” Virgil shrugged.

“Not from _you_ ,” Patton blinked.

“Everybody has exceptions. I’m your exception most of the time, right?” Virgil grinned and booped Patton in the nose, causing Patton to titter and twitch his nose.

“Yeah,” Patton said softly and gripped the new star spattered hoodie hanging off Virgil. It was big on Patton, but with the sleeves bunched up it fit alright, but Patton wouldn’t take it off for anything.

“Back! It was in the garage with a note. He mentioned Remus has his own? That’s so weird,” Remy ran his hand through his hair. “You know how to use this thing, right, V? I’m not reading the massive manual Lo left if I can help it,” Remy passed it off to Virgil and Virgil nodded, taking it to set up.

“They allow Remus to come out often if he doesn’t have after-school stuff, but his parents are always too busy or not home so they just gave him one to take out with him. His parents call playing with Patty ‘networking’, they’re so weird. He’s a kid, he likes dirt and worms and swinging on stuff, you know? He doesn’t care about ‘networking’,” Virgil rolled his eyes. “Alright, Pat, come on up,” Virgil moved out of the way to let Patton in and Virgil buckled him up and made sure everything was in place before coming around to sit on the other side.

“Dang, girl, leave some tea to spill for the rest of us,” Remy chuckled. “I’m sure he’ll be glad for chicken fingers and dirty slides, then,” Remy said as he buckled up and began to back out of the driveway.

“Hey, Patty, why don’t you tell Remy about Mrs. Bunnyface’s favourite thing to do at the park?” Virgil suggested, pulling out his phone and texting Janus that they were on the way.

“Mrs. Bunnyface likes t’watch me swing and slide and climb! She likes to watch Remus use th’ monkey bars, too!” Patton said cheerily. “Mrs. Bunnyface doesn’t like to get dirty, so Virgil sits with her t’watch. There’s this one park Virge takes me to on his bike with th’ thing Remus calls ‘the pod’ I always forget the name of that has these cool drums and things and she plays those with us! Even Virgil and Janus play them! It’s so fun!” Patton buoyantly babbled about what he did at parks. “Also Virge gets us ice cream there! Mrs. Bunnyface loves vanilla with strawberries and chocolate syrup. Remus likes gummy bears because he lost a tooth in one once and he wants to do it again,” Patton kicked his feet gaily.

“That kid is so metal,” Virgil laughed. “Has Mrs. Bunnyface ever had dog food? I lost a tooth in that,” He asked.

“Ew! Virge, she’s a bunny, not a puppy!” Patton held his doll tight.

“No, kid, it’s cereal and chocolate and stuff. We’ll make it together sometime so she can try it,” Remy laughed.

“Yeah, I think Remus would want to eat it on name alone. I think Mrs. Bunnyface would like it, Patty,” Virgil winked and Patton giggled. “Oh, turn here and it’s the one on the right. He’s already outside waiting,” Virgil leaned forward to point.

“Th’ name is _yucky_ , though,” Patton giggled.

“Dog food being a gross name is part of the fun,” Virgil smirked. The car door opened and Janus climbed into the front seat and smiled apprehensively to Remy. “Janus! We get to fly a drone!” Virgil said eagerly. Janus’s interest was piqued right away, turning to Virgil.

“We _do_?” He asked, clicking in the seatbelt and gripping it enthusiastically. He looked back to Remy sheepishly. “My parents gave me five bucks for dinner,” He offered weakly. “I know it’s not enough, but-”

“Keep it, bonus allowance, order what you want,” Remy waved Janus off right away. Janus smiled and nodded. “Okay, I’m headed towards the heights, but I might need a GPS for that labyrinth of a neighborhood,” Remy said.

“That’s chill,” Virgil loaded up the address and passed his phone up to Janus. “I can’t wait to take the camera up close to the waterfall,” Virgil balled his fists in excitement.

— 🏰 —

“Alright, I’m trusting you two with this. I’m staying with the chaos gremlins at the playground. Keep your phone on you, come back right away if I call, and don’t fly the thing into the waterfall, okay?” Remy said, holding up a finger and passing off the controller. Virgil and Janus vibrated with excitement and nodded, waiting for Remy’s say. Remy rolled his eyes affectionately and nodded, and they both took off in the waterfall's direction.

“You’ll keep her safe, right?” Patton asked with concern, passing up his doll.

“Everything in my power, kid. You keep that glow necklace on. Go on, Remus is already halfway up the web,” Remy pointed and Patton looked between his doll and the web a few times before bolting and jumping up on the net.

Remy sat back on the bench with the rabbit doll on his lap. He pulled out his phone and a pair of headphones and put them on low so he could listen to his music while he kept an eye on Patton and Remus. Patton and Remus were on the top of the net, trying to push each other over. Remy probably should have stopped them, but they were being pretty gentle and Remus caught Patton when he did actually lose balance. The height wasn’t a particularly dangerous one to play fight at, but if Logan knew Remy let that slide he’d get yelled at.

Patton chased Remus across the pebbles laughing, Remus yelling something about pirates and treasure and Patton paying rapt attention. They dug in the pebbles under the slide for a bit but got distracted by a group game of ‘Lava Monster’ or something where the ground was lava and the kid on the ground had to tag someone without using the playground floor. Climbing was fair game, and Remus used that to his advantage. He was very spry. Remy thought he’d be more bored keeping an eye on them, but they were so high energy and excited it was a little infectious.

The Lava monsters won, and they switched to regular tag, but Patton didn’t want to play that one, so he and Remus went to a boat-type thing and pretended to be sea explorers instead. Patton steered the torrential sea while Remus fought off a squid, maybe. They were mostly yelling nonsense to Remy’s ears. They beat the sea monster and after that had a deserted island vacation, made rock angels, and eventually headed back over to the bench where Remy sat with tired smiles. The sun set just enough that the soft glow of the necklaces was visible in the lower light, so Virgil was likely getting some primo photos.

“Hey, how about we get water bottles from the car and go watch Virgil and Janus?” Remy offered.

“Sure! I’m tired, though, carry me?” Remus asked guilelessly.

“Dust yourself off, kid,” Remy laughed. Remus shook off like a dog and pat himself down as well as he could and held up his arms. Remy hefted him up on one side and looked to Patton for a moment. “I can carry you too, Pat, if you want. You’ll have to hold Mrs. Bunnyface, though,” Remy said, passing her down with his free arm. Patton took her and held her tight for a moment before nodding and slowly stepping over. Remy carefully squatted down and picked up Patton on his other side and headed back towards the car. Patton seemed nervous, but Remus rested tiredly against Remy’s shoulder.

He put down Remus at the car to grab the lunch box full of cold water bottles and Remus was the bearer of the lunch box as he carried the pair over to the area with the small cliff and waterfall. It wasn’t hard to pick out Virgil and Janus with the glow-in-dark stars on the hoodie and glow stick jewelry. They were near the fenced-off water bank, flying the drone stiffly. Janus looked at his phone and Virgil stared at the drone while he flew it attentively. He carefully lowered down for the boys to hop off and Remus drowsily flopped back in the grass, holding up the box for Remy to take and unzipped. He passed down a water bottle for Remus and Patton, who sat on the grass next to them. They drank thirstily and fell back with giggles.

“When you have a second we’ve got water,” Remy called out to the two. Virgil jumped, being shaken from his concentration, but held up his thumb. Janus came over for the bottles, though, keeping his eye on his phone for the display.

“Thanks,” Janus stated distractedly and walked back over to Virgil where they continued to take photos. Remy settled down on the grass and watched them fly around. Janus pointed out areas that looked interesting, and Virgil was taking photos from different angles. He passed off the controls to Janus and drank some water while they got the last few ones they could. It looked kind of like Remus and Patton were passing out in the grass.

“Wrap it up, guys!” Remy called out and Patton jumped and blinked a few times. They recalled the drone quickly after and Janus carried them over.

“Thank you _so much_ , uncle Remy!” Virgil said gleefully, placing the empty bottles in the lunch box. “I can’t wait to get those photos. You want me to carry you back, Patty?” Virgil asked and leaned down near Patton. Patton nodded and yawned a little and held up his arms. Virgil reached down and grabbed him, holding him close to his chest. Patton balled his fists in the hoodie and closed his eyes.

“You want another ride, tiny terror?” Remy asked and Remus sat up sluggishly and rubbed his eyes.

“Woah,” Remus looked around in confusion. “Yeah,” He nodded and held out his arms. Remy knelt down to carry Remus. Remus basically melted against him like a jellyfish.

“Will you carry the drone, Janus?” Remy asked and Janus looked surprised for a moment.

“You don’t think I’ll _break_ it?” Janus asked in disbelief.

“You’ve been playing with that thing for like two hours, you’re clearly capable. Give yourself some credit when others won’t, kid, you’ll go much farther,” Remy said reassuringly and winked.

Remus and Patton were nearly out by the time they made it back to the car, barely noticing all the animated conversation going on between Virgil and Janus between the front and back seats of his sedan. Remy settled in for the long drive back, humming along with the quiet radio. Patton and Remus were passed out with contented looks in the rear-view and Virgil and Janus were teasing each other boisterously, Janus using his hand like a puppet so he could sit back in the seat and still ‘face’ Virgil in the back. Virgil made a hand puppet as well, playfully mocking each other.

Being a dad wasn’t Remy’s ‘thing’, but he sure as hell loved his nephews. Maybe sitting at a park for two hours isn’t how he wanted to spend every day, but for them? He would do it again in a heartbeat. Logan and Roman were doing something right. If the weather held, he brought concert earplugs to take them to a carnival. If it didn’t, movie theatre and board games. Either way, he was making dog food, just because. Mixing it up was the best way to live life. Logan would be mad about all the sugar, but what were uncles for?


	14. The Tinfoil Crab Continues

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Logan isn't happy about Virgil dying Patton's hair.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Words: 1,774  
> Warnings: Anxiety, food, minor arguing  
> Characters: Logan, Roman, Virgil, Patton  
> Universe: Whole Castle  
> Genre: Family Fluff  
> Additional Tags: Logan is extra about safety

Virgil flinched when he heard the front door open and shirked back from the stove, looking over to Roman with concern. Roman pulled Virgil into a hug and kissed his hair while Virgil latched on to him. Patton wasn’t positive about what was happening, but Virgil didn’t seem happy and that made him uncomfortable. He looked nervously over to Roman for a second before returning to staring at Virgil with trepidation.

“How about you and Patton go watch TV in your room, Virgil,” Roman suggested softly. Virgil nodded and let go of Roman, taking Patton’s hand and heading through the living room toward his room. Virgil shrank into himself when he passed Logan, who smiled brightly before his eyes shot to Patton’s hair. It surprised Logan before the anger about the implications of the colorful display took over.

“Virgil-” Logan nearly started to chide Virgil who froze on the spot, bracing himself.

“Keep going to your room,” Roman said, following them out of the kitchen. “Welcome home, darling,” Roman said and nodded to Virgil and Patton. Virgil skittered off, dragging Patton with him.

“You know grounding him to his room has no effect on him, he’s always there when he’s not taking care of Patton,” Logan furrowed his brows. Roman pressed a kiss between Logan’s eyebrows and took his hand to take him to the kitchen. He sat Logan down at the table and made sure the stove wasn’t on before sitting down with Logan.

“Love, I didn’t ground him,” Roman started. “I asked him to explain. Patton was going to dye his hair himself and Virgil took over and made sure it was safe to do and… and likely curbed a style disaster,” Roman squeezed Logan’s hand. Logan narrowed his eyes at Roman, his concerns not mitigated by that explanation.

“He dyed Patton’s hair, Roman. He should have stopped Patton and left it there. Patton is young and he should get sick or have an allergic reaction. This should have been discussed with a pediatrician first,” Logan said firmly, frowning at Roman.

“I googled it, and Virgil did what he should do. No bleach and a semi-permanent dye. I saw bathroom trash and Virgil made Patton wear a mask even though there’s no ammonia in those colors. And ammonia is what they consider risky. The articles say Patton shouldn’t get sick,” Roman explained. “Patton is so happy about it. He wasn’t even nervous about talking directly to me. He told me everything as himself. Not about his rabbit,” Roman added emphatically, proud of Patton.

“Really?” Logan softened slightly and somewhat hopeful.

“Really. Virgil feels bad, too. He said he felt strongly about it. He admitted he wished he could at Patton’s age so he could like himself better and got carried away,” Roman reached out and took Logan’s shoulder, squeezing it slightly.

“I do not like the uncertainty of Patton’s health just on Virgil’s whim, Roman,” Logan shook his head, feeling a little betrayed by his hopefulness when Patton could have been hurt.

“Well, it was Patton’s whim, too. They should both be in trouble, technically,” Roman shrugged, eying Logan suspiciously. He was attempting to distract Logan, but it didn’t work.

“Virgil shouldn’t be able to do something dangerous without consequences to his actions, Roman. Patton did not know it was risky and shouldn’t be punished for it,” Logan tried to cross his arms, but Roman wouldn’t let go of Logan’s hand. Logan sighed and sat up straighter in the chair.

“It wasn’t dangerous. Virgil feels really strongly about it and wanted to make Alfredo to apologize. And you should have _seen_ it! Patton was so animated and excited. He said he was happy to look like Virgil’s brother. I almost _cried_ , Logan!” Roman squeezed Logan’s hand with both of his. “Please, let this slide. I think it meant a lot to both of them,” Roman said imploringly, his face etched in a begging and doleful expression.

Logan scrunched up his face in confusion, not fully processing this information. “Patton’s only been here a few _months_ , how-”

“He’s such a good brother, Logan, do you even have to ask?” Roman cut Logan off before he could finish. “You’ve seen how Patton idolizes Virgil. He follows him around and wants to do everything Virgil does. And Virgil’s so patient with him. He probably just wanted to look more like Virgil and that’s what started this whole thing. Really, he’s so precious, an adorable, darling-”

“Roman,” Logan stopped Roman before he started rambling. “You said you didn’t even want kids at first, and now you’re clearly thinking about adopting Patton already,” Logan smirked smugly at Roman. He had seen this coming from miles away.

“You didn’t see them together, Logan! Patton wants to be his brother so bad! I don’t think we have a choice!” Roman insisted, gripping Logan’s hand again and pouting out his lower lip.

“Roman, you are aware that his biological parents still have rights to him, right? They just have to get cleared first to take him back,” Logan shook his head sullenly.

“Oh, like they would try,” Roman blurted sourly, grimacing at his own words as soon as they came out.

“It is something to consider. They could contest,” Logan shrugged slightly. He also didn’t think it was likely based on what the social worker heard when she came to take him away.

“And I will sic Virgil on them. I received a call from the school about him threatening someone in Patton’s class,” Roman joked and chuckled lightly. “ _Please_ let it slide? Virgil gives Patton everything he asks for, he’s got no defenses against that tiny pout,” Roman pleaded once more, bringing the conversation back to the subject at hand.

“Fine, there won’t be any repercussions as long as he really is remorseful. I will lecture him about safety, however,” Logan huffed slightly, but his expression was soft.

“Hm. I thought you said no consequences,” Roman smirked playfully and Logan narrowed his eyes at Roman. Roman laughed out loud while Logan glared judgementally. “I’m going to finish dinner. Why don’t you go check on the boys? Virgil did a good job on Patton’s hair, you should see,” Roman said airily. He squeezed Logan’s hand one final time before getting up and kissing Logan on the cheek. Logan exhaled and rolled his eyes affectionately.

Logan got up from the kitchen chair and pushed them both back in and headed to Virgil’s room. Virgil’s door was slightly ajar and the sounds of a cartoon were coming through to the hall. Logan peered through the crack silently, wanting to see them and the hair without alerting Virgil and making him nervous. Virgil was sitting against the wall on his bed sideways with his arm wrapped around Patton who was leaning against him buoyantly. Patton’s hair coloring was different from Virgil’s, but it was very similar to the way Virgil did his, though much more colorful and suited for Patton’s haircut. Patton pointed at the TV and laughed about one of the characters, and Virgil teased him and ruffled his curls. Patton stuck out his tongue at Virgil and returned to watching TV. Virgil rolled his eyes and he must have noticed Logan there because he looked shocked and stiffened.

“I’m just admiring your handiwork, Virgil,” Logan admitted and opened the door to step in the doorway. Patton looked confused.

“I… I’m sorry,” Virgil muttered sheepishly and gripped Patton’s shoulder slightly.

“You don’t need to apologize, Virgil. You’re not in trouble and there will be no consequences,” Logan sighed and smiled at him. He could never stay mad at Virgil even if he was worried about Patton’s health.

“ _Good_!” Patton piped up. Logan blinked a few times in befuddlement from Patton’s sudden statement.

“You really like it?” Virgil asked hopefully, concerned about Logan’s opinion.

“Yes, it looks very good. I appreciate that it is in the same style family of your hair, but still unique, much like brothers,” Logan said, curious to see Patton’s reaction as Roman mentioned. Patton lit up right away, bouncing on the spot and giggling. He balled up his fists and shook them joyously while he shook his head, making his curls bounce around while he grinned. Virgil laughed as Patton knocked him over on the bed with a violent hug.

“Pat, you’re missing Pokémon,” Virgil groaned affectionately while Patton cackled and rubbed his face into Virgil’s side. Patton looked to the TV and didn’t move from atop Virgil. “Let me _up_ you little demon,” Virgil said impishly and snuck and hand around to tickle Patton. He shrieked with laughter and got up, reaching for a pillow and hitting Virgil with it with a small flop. Virgil took it from Patton and sat up, putting it behind his head, leaning back with a grin and closing his eyes.

“Hey, I was _using_ that!” Patton pouted at Virgil, pushing out his lower lip and staring sternly.

“You lose pillow rights when you hit me with it,” Virgil jeered playfully and peeked down with one eye to Patton, who puffed out his cheeks with an even bigger pout. Virgil rolled his eyes and slid the pillow back behind Patton, who flopped down on it moodily. Virgil chuckled and held out his arm, and Patton shifted back against Virgil despite his big offended display. Logan made a note to get more Pillows for Virgil’s bed since they were using it like a couch. He leaned against the doorway and smiled at the pair. “What?” Virgil looked uneasily at Logan, not sure what amused him.

“I am simply happy, Virgil. You will still get a lecture about safety later, however, for doing something potentially dangerous,” Logan informed him firmly and looked pointedly at Virgil. Virgil groaned dramatically and slumped against the pillow between him and the wall.

“I thought you said I _wasn’t_ being punished,” Virgil raised his eyebrow at Logan. Logan sighed and shook his head.

“No punishing Virgil!” Patton shot and gripped Virgil protectively. Virgil pat him reassuringly.

“It’s fine, pipsqueak, I’m not,” Virgil chuckled and Patton loosened up, looking suspiciously at Logan. Logan tried his best to look safe and laid back to assuage Patton’s distrust.

“You are too much like your other father,” Logan grinned knowingly at Virgil. He was perfectly aware saying this would annoy him, but Virgil nearly quoted him verbatim.

“Hey, I resent that!” Virgil narrowed his eyes at Logan before chuckling again. Patton mirrored Virgil’s expression after a quick glance and Logan smiled affectionately, leaving them alone to watch the show. Roman was right. They already were brothers, and they didn’t have a choice.


	15. In Little Ways

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Logan tries something new.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Words: 2,775  
> Warnings: Past Child Abuse Mention  
> Characters: Logan, Roman, Patton, Virgil  
> Universe: Whole Castle  
> Genre: Hurt/Comfort  
> Additional Tags: Patient Parenting

It had been weeks since they had gotten Patton. If he wasn’t with Virgil, he didn’t come out of his room, and he avoided Logan and Roman unless they called for him. Logan tried not to get disheartened. He knew Patton needed time to get comfortable. He was acutely aware of how much time it took, considering how many times Virgil ran away. But Patton was struggling in school and Virgil had trouble communicating concepts and Logan desperately wanted to help. He was quite literally _trained_ for this. He tried to teach Virgil how to do so, but when he got put on the spot by Patton’s questions Virgil often faltered and Patton couldn’t follow. Patton needed things presented in very simple language to understand.

Roman suffered, too. Logan didn’t miss all the bittersweet glances he was hiding when Patton ran off to hide in his bedroom. Patton was having accidents at night because it scared him to leave his room while Logan and Roman were awake. Virgil had been staying with him in his room some nights to walk Patton to the bathroom, but progress was slow. The problem was ultimately that Patton didn’t trust Roman or Logan. He didn’t trust _any_ adults, so Logan tried not to take it personally, but he did sometimes.

With Patton’s history of neglect, Logan was afraid of giving him too much space. He wanted to make sure he was present in Patton’s life and supporting him. He wanted Patton to no longer have to suffer without parental guidance. But Patton always just curled into himself and talked quietly. His body language all screamed that he was scared and didn’t want to be there. If Logan watched from another room, Patton would play with Virgil and colour and have fun, but as soon as there was an adult in the room with Patton he would clam up. Virgil's presence let him still play, but he would get quieter and less boisterous.

Logan simply didn’t know how to reach out and say that he and Roman were safe adults. With Virgil, he required enough time and patience to open up. But Virgil did nothing but act out and attempt to incite yelling matches, and this was very different. Virgil required confirmation that they wouldn’t hurt him no matter what he did. Patton needed proof that they cared about him, but he was unwilling to give Logan or Roman the opening to try. Virgil screaming, breaking things, and running away were _opportunities_ to show they would still love and support him. He did not have the desire to relive those times, but he would take any chance Patton would give them. But Patton would not give them a chance.

Logan sighed as he sat in the den with his book and looked out into the empty living room. It wasn’t reasonable for a 14-year-old to want to spend all of his time with a 6-year-old. He was allowed to want personal space. But without Virgil Patton would not leave his room and even try. They had been operating under the concept that Patton’s room was his sanctuary and his place to always feel safe and go back to when he got stressed. That had worked for Virgil. Virgil often needed his space to deal process. Logan did not think it was working for Patton, though.

He knew he liked his room and could have fun there. He felt comfortable in there. Virgil spent time in Patton’s room to colour with him and make up stories about his toys together. But Patton didn’t prefer leaving his comfort zone. He needed to try something new. Logan slid his finger in place on his book and got up from the chair, heading to Patton’s room. He knocked three times and paused for a response, but there was nothing.

“Patton, it’s Logan,” Logan announced after no sound. He opened the door slowly and Patton was sitting on the edge of his bed with his doll. He looked anxiously at Logan. Patton’s shoulders curled in and he slumped his head immediately like he normally does around adults. It was painful to watch.

“I do somethin’ wrong?” Patton asked meekly, bracing himself.

“No, you haven’t. I just wanted to ask if you minded if I read in here? Please answer honestly,” Logan inquired. Patton looked confused for a moment and stared down at the floor. He held his breath, waiting for a response that was feeling like it wouldn’t come while Patton nervously gripped his doll.

“I don’” Patton muttered. Logan entered the room and sat in the glider in the corner, turning on the lamp to read. Patton had moved farther down his bed, putting more distance between himself and Logan. This was to be expected, and Logan tried his best to hide his sorrow. He smiled reassuringly instead and attempted to focus on his book.

The only way Logan could think of to be there for Patton was to _literally_ be there. Place himself in Patton’s area but continue to respect his boundaries. Show Patton that they were fine with sharing space with him. He wanted to demonstrate that being around adults didn’t mean he was going to get punished. He would have preferred a doctor’s guidance for this, but Patton wouldn’t talk with the doctor either. He cried through the last appointment. This was a simple leap of faith he had to hope would pay off. If Patton became visibly distressed, he would leave. His room would still be safe and his. Logan just felt like he had to try.

Patton was stiff for a good while. Logan’s progress on his book wasn’t particularly successful since he mostly checked to make sure Patton was not getting upset. Eventually, he got up off the bed and played quietly with his building blocks in the corner. He flinched every time he accidentally made a loud noise, but Logan simply smiled at him when Patton looked over. Logan was genuinely worried that this attempt would have caused a terrible reaction, but Patton’s breathing remained normal. Other than glancing at Logan often at first, he never progressed past cautious. Patton still viewed his room as his comfort zone. Logan didn’t push his boundaries too hard.

He breathed a sigh of relief. Patton was doing okay. He was building a house with the blocks and sometimes muttered to himself the dialogue between the characters going in and out. He even heard Patton quietly humming to himself while he played with the blocks. When Logan flipped the page and it rustled, Patton jumped and turned to look slowly. He sighed and went back to playing, no longer humming. Patton at least was comfortable with Logan enough to forget he was there. That was more progress than Logan had seen in weeks. Maybe giving Patton his space at first to adjust helped.

Virgil poked his head into the bedroom. “Hey, Patty, you want a snack?” He proposed and Patton looked nervous and didn’t respond. Virgil furrowed his eyebrows and looked around. “Oh! Dad! What are you doing in here?” Virgil asked, surprised to see Logan.

“I just wanted to spend time with Patton. He said it was alright for me to join him,” Logan motioned with his head to Patton.

“Is that right, pipsqueak?” Virgil smiled at him. Patton nodded slowly. “I told you he’s chill. Do you want a cheese stick or something?” He drew a rectangle in the air. Patton nodded once more and Virgil left the doorway.

Virgil reappeared a couple of minutes later, holding a bowl of chips and chucking a prepackaged cheese stick on the floor next to Patton with a brief wave. He retreated down the hall with the hand sign for ‘I love you’. Patton looked to Logan for a moment before reaching for the cheese stick. He struggled with getting a grip on the packaging and frowned at the stick, making an upset expression.

“If you would like me to open that for you, I can,” Logan offered. Patton paused and considered it before clambering up off the floor. He came over slowly and held out his arm all the way to pass it over to Logan. Logan picked it carefully out of fingers and Patton backed up and wrung his hands while Logan peeled back the packaging a third-way down so Patton could snack on it. He held the cheese stick out for Patton. He patiently held it in place while Patton considered him. Patton smiled a little and took the stick from Logan’s hand swiftly, then scuttled across the room to where he was playing.

Progress was progress. Despite the redundancy, Logan would take any opportunity he could to help Patton.

Every day that one of them could, Logan or Roman made time to just sit with Patton in his bedroom and give him his space. If Patton ever got distressed, they called in Virgil so he could calm back down or leave. Keeping the room safe for Patton was paramount to their attempts. Patton seemed to exalt Virgil. Why Patton thought a 14-year-old could protect him from an _adult_ was beyond Logan, but at the moment it was alright since it was only them at home. Patton didn’t enjoy leaving the house, so for the moment being that was okay. He could teach Patton safety protocols later. For now, just getting Patton to be relaxed near them was important.

It took a week for Patton to be comfortable making noises around one of them. Roman reported that Patton’s sound effects were delightful. He was the first to hear the sounds louder than a mummer. Logan noticed that Patton liked to have animal saviours in his stories. Patton would also act out scenes from his old house with his toys, and Logan was even happier to have Patton _here_ with them.

Patton got punished and yelled at for getting in ‘their space’ or a word that he assumed ‘annoying’. This happened often. The child in the story had a sister, and Logan had to assume Patton intended that to be his doll since he was an only child. The children would go on adventures and get yelled at by the parents when they were caught. It was very unpleasant to sit through.

The adults there also did not get along. He lived with his mother and when his father visited, they mostly fought about child support. From the layout of the house Patton built, it was a one-bedroom apartment and Patton might have slept in a walk-in closet. Being afraid of the dark wasn’t uncommon at Patton’s age, but it suddenly made more sense why Patton reacted so badly to it. He hoped they could get Patton to play in front of Dr. Picani so he could help. This wasn’t Logan’s area of expertise, nor would it be responsible of him to make an attempt.

Another week of time and Patton wouldn’t sequester all the way across the room from them. He played at the floor-level table, colouring with his crayons or playing with his toys. Logan watched a story with paleontologically incorrect dinosaurs jumping off the table and learning to fly. He barely paid attention to his book that day. It was the first occasion his toys were ever openly supportive of each other in his stories. They encouraged each other and said pleasant things. He didn’t miss how the T-Rex called the velociraptor ‘pipsqueak’ when he reassured that it would be safe and he could fly, too.

One more week and Patton asked Roman to read him a story, of which he hammed up so much Logan could hear Patton cackling from the living room. Patton started asking for stories from Roman more often after that, which Roman was so moved by he cried and demolished a large bowl of dark chocolate cherry ice cream. Virgil sometimes sat in on storytelling to make fun of Roman, but he regularly got caught up in the stories, too, much to Virgil’s chagrin.

It was three weeks out when it finally happened. Neither of them had spent time in Patton’s room yet today since they were both busy. Roman was practicing singing and doing a recording in the garage which meant it was just a little loud in the kitchen for Logan to focus on grading, so he was sitting on a cushion at the coffee table with some ‘chill Lo-Fi beats to study to’ playing. On this assignment he asked the students to explain the steps of the equations to verify comprehension, so he had given himself extra work other than explaining where the student went wrong in their math.

Patton came out of his bedroom and gathered a book from the bookshelf to read. Logan had fully anticipated for Patton to take it back into his room. But Patton climbed up on to the couch and started reading there, instead. Logan froze for a moment. He didn’t know how to react. He knew he shouldn’t emote too enthusiastically and make Patton nervous, so he just tried to return his attention to grading. Patton joined Logan with no prompting or interaction. Virgil wasn’t out here, either, which was his normal requirement. Patton got lonely and decided to spend time with someone on his _own_.

Logan chewed on the inside of his cheek. He was unreasonably moved. But he wouldn’t do anything to deter Patton. Patton was used to Logan spending time with him quietly and changing that might be upsetting. He was so glad Roman wasn’t here because if Logan wanted to cry in relief, Roman would most certainly do it. This was genuine progress. Patton was getting more comfortable with them. Logan’s attempts weren’t harmful or in vain. Patton didn’t hate them.

Patton held the book close to his face while he read, kicking his feet to the music slowly. He seemed to give up halfway through the text and rubbed his eyes. He blinked a few times and slumped back into the couch with a small pout. Logan hummed curiously. Patton got up to put the book away and returned to his room. Logan thought that would be it for today and that Patton would stay there. But Patton came back out with his building blocks chest, dragging it across the carpet. He started playing instead, clicking together pieces to make a nature scene and galloped a horse and cowboy across it with a small whinny.

This felt monumental. He wanted to scream from the rooftops. He would have to settle on ice cream with dinner. Roman came out of the kitchen and walked into the living room with an exhausted sigh. He made it halfway through the living area when he noticed Patton playing on the floor and his eyes started watering up. Logan quickly shot his finger up to his mouth and Roman nodded hurriedly and rushed through the rest of the room and off to their bedroom.

Twenty minutes had passed, and Patton upgraded the horse to a unicorn that was fighting off ‘mean people’ when Roman came back out, acting much more composed and holding his composition notebook. He sat on the couch and started working. Likely inspired by Patton again. Roman hummed tunes to himself while he worked, making up a melody. The ‘mean people’ had eye lasers, but apparently those did not affect unicorns. With Roman composing, Patton’s superpowered unicorn, and Logan’s elation, he struggled with focusing enough to grade. But today, that was okay.

“I like that one,” Logan pointed out when Roman hummed out another slow and emotional melody.

“Oh! Thank you, darling,” Roman said happily and started filling in lines and writing it down. Logan turned off his music and let Roman work with that steady determination he always got when he wrote a new song. Roman hummed a little louder as he worked, creating furiously. He looked like he was in the zone, but said zone included looking to Patton and smiling instead of his regular intense focus.

“Um, will you…” Patton trailed off holding a base piece stacked with another one stuck on top of it out towards Logan.

“Always,” Logan nodded and took the blocks, digging his nail into the side to wedge them apart. Patton beamed with Logan, handed back the two separate pieces. Patton sat down excitedly and went to work making a new scene. The unicorn and cowboy were venturing to an undersea kingdom now. Unicorns can breathe underwater, too. Patton’s idea of unicorn biology was fascinating. Logan chuckled quietly to himself and returned to grading.


	16. In Little Ways Pt. II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Progress is made.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Words: 1,140  
> Warnings: Food Mention, Abandonment Issues  
> Characters: Logan, Roman, Patton, Virgil  
> Universe: Whole Castle  
> Genre: Hurt/Comfort, Fluff  
> Additional Tags: Patient Parenting, Roman Sanders is Extra

Logan exhaled hard as he got home from work. It was a long afternoon of meetings with teachers who pretended Logan’s plight was not their own. Why scholars couldn’t agree that each department had its struggles was baffling. He rubbed his face and set down his briefcase and kicked off his shoes at the rack.

“Dad, dad, _dad_ , _dad_!” Virgil came rushing up to him as soon as she shut the door. “Janus just got a new game, can I go? _Please_? Can you watch Pat?” He pleaded hurriedly, jogging on the spot.

“Virgil, you know I don’t like you running across the highway,” Logan huffed, shaking his head.

“I’ll take my scooter! It’s just two lanes. Janus does it _all the time_. The sun’s up, drivers will see me! _Please_!” Virgil shot back, gripping Logan’s arm and shaking it lightly.

“The game doesn’t have sexual content or gratuitous violence?” Logan raised an eyebrow at him. He always had trouble saying no to Virgil whenever he was this excited.

“No, it’s a multi-player JRPG, you get to ride dragons, please!” Virgil sounded desperate. Logan would never understand Virgil’s fascination with these things.

“Fine, go ahead. Please be careful. One of us will pick you up, just call when you’re done or we’ll get you before dinner. Only one soda,” Logan held up a finger and conceded emphatically.

“ _Deal_! Thanks, dad! Love you!” Virgil pushed past Logan excitedly and headed out the front door. Logan blinked as it slammed shut. Janus usually spent him here rather than Virgil visiting him. But they didn’t have the newest game systems and Janus’s family did, so it made sense even if Logan was slightly suspicious. He hoped traffic was forgiving. The highway between the neighborhoods had light traffic, but Logan worried about either of them crossing.

Logan stepped in and headed into the kitchen to grab a drink before checking on Patton in his room. Patton looked concerned, scribbling hard on the paper in front of him with one hand and his rabbit doll in the other.

“Is everything alright, Patton?” Logan inquired gently. Patton looked up to him and sighed, not responding in any manner. He glanced sadly at Logan before looking down and gripping at his shorts. “Can I come in?” Patton shook his head. “Then would you like to come out?” Logan suggested and stepped out of the doorway to give Patton room. Patton sat motionless for a moment before he nodded and got up. Logan went out into the living room and Patton climbed up near him. “Do you think Mrs. Bunnyface would want to watch _Wall-E_?” Logan hummed and picked up the remote and Patton cheered up a little, making his doll nod a few times.

Logan loaded up the movie and sat back. He wasn’t sure what was wrong with Patton, but he was uncomfortable and upset about _something_. He hoped _Wall-E_ would cheer him up. Patton liked the little robots. Sometimes when he was cleaning up his building blocks, he’d pretend he was _Wall-E_. Patton leaned on the couch and pulled his feet up to watch just like Virgil does, snuggling his doll close. Logan breathed a small chuckle out through his nose. He realized what might be wrong.

“Does Mrs. Bunnyface miss Virgil?” Logan inquired quietly, trying not to look pointedly at Patton. Patton sighed and squeezed Mrs. Bunnyface.

“Yeah,” Patton breathed. “He’s comin’ back, righ’?” Patton looked up sadly at Logan.

“Yes, he’s just playing a game with his friend. He’ll be back,” Logan nodded and smiled to Patton.

“He don’t… hate… um, Mrs. Bunnyface?” Patton furrowed his eyebrows and stiffened.

“No, Patton. He loves both of you. Did it make Mrs. Bunnyface worry that he was so excited to leave today?” Logan looked down at Patton, who nodded sadly. “Just so she knows, Virgil being excited about spending time with someone else doesn’t mean he loves either of you less. He just got excited about a video game and he wasn’t abandoning you… or Mrs. Bunnyface,” Logan cleared his throat. Patton nodded in acknowledgment and loosened up slightly.

“You promise?” Patton looked up glassy-eyed to Logan.

“I promise,” Logan smiled reassuringly. “Virgil is a little obsessed with animé and dragons, the game had both it seems. He also just wants to spend time with his friend. He still loves you, even if he has other interests,” He added genially.

“It’s lonely,” Patton whispered, looking dourly to the floor.

“I’m here for you, Patton. Anything I that _can_ give you is yours,” Logan offered. Patton sniffled and turned back to watch the TV.

Patton didn’t move at first. He just shot Logan glances every few minutes. Logan observed Patton just as much as he watched the movie to make sure he was okay. After a bit of time passed, Patton took a deep breath and shifted closer on the couch. If Logan hadn’t watched him do it, he might not have been aware it was such a slight move. Logan put his arm up on the back of the couch to make it obvious he was okay with Patton moving closer. Patton looked between the floor and Logan a few times before shifting more towards Logan and laying down on his lap. Logan waited a few more moments for experimentally lowered his arm. He floated it over Patton before he rested it on him, and Patton grabbed his arm to hold along with his plush.

Logan pulled the blanket off the back of the couch with a one-handed effort and tossed it over Patton’s lower half. He snuggled up under the lopsided blanket and scooted up closer on Logan’s lap, pulling Logan’s arm with him. Logan sighed happily and watched Patton tiredly watch the movie more than the film itself. It was one Roman loved, so he already knew it by heart. He texted Roman apologizing that he couldn’t start dinner tonight with a picture message of Patton laying on his lap and Roman sent a solid eight messages of key smashes. Then he ranted about how far Patton had come and how incredibly jealous he was.

Patton was completely absorbed into the movie by the time Roman made it home, so Roman did a silent dance just out of Patton’s vision. The moonwalk was particularly impressive, and being able to spin soundlessly was a skill. He then retreated to the kitchen to make a ‘victory meal’, whatever that was. Roman’s cooking was amazing, so he was sure it will be lovely. Logan sometimes heard Roman’s soft singing from the kitchen over the film, but Patton didn’t appear to notice. He looked very comfortable and engrossed in the movie. Logan sighed in relief and smiled at Patton. It was so wonderful to remember that things could get better if you tried.


	17. Rainbow Chiffon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Patton sees something he wants at the store.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Words: 962  
> Warnings: Food  
> Characters: Patton, Roman (Virgil and Janus mentioned in passing)  
> Universe: Whole Castle  
> Genre: Found Family Fluff  
> Additional Tags: Tooth rotting fluff

“This is so pretty!” Patton cooed and tugged at a skirt hanging on the rack from the cart, kicking his feet. “Can I have it?” Patton looked up to Roman pleadingly.

“No, baby,” Roman shook his head sadly. “This would be a dress on you,” He tugged at it on the rack and the skirt swung.

“But it’s got so many colours!” Patton objected with a large pout.

“Let’s head into the section and see if something similar is in your size, okay? These are for kids much older than you,” Roman suggested, ruffling at Patton’s curls.

“But I want this one!” Patton pouted even harder, his lower lip wobbling pitifully.

“Sweetie, it’ll be okay,” Roman smiled compassionately. “Maybe there’s a _better_ one in your size. It’s worth checking, right? We just happened across this one, but there could be a better one if we look harder. All the best things in life take a little time and effort, I promise,” Roman stepped around to lift Patton out of the cart to give him a hug. Patton hung on to Roman’s shirt while he carried Patton into the nearby children’s clothes section.

Patton hopped down and bee-lined to the girls’ section to go look at the skirts. Roman steered in the cart and parked it out of the way to go join Patton while he happily stepped into a rack of dresses and giggled.

“Oh, no! I _lost_ Patton! Where did he _go_!” Roman held up his hands to his mouth and watched Patton bubble up with a peal of laughter and hide deeper in the rack. “ _Whatever_ will I do? My baby is _gone_!” Roman cried out, playing along. “Who will I share my ice cream with?” He said temptingly and Patton hopped out of the rack, holding up both arms.

“I’m here! Ice cream!” Patton waved his hands excitedly.

“There you are! Come over this way, baby, let’s see if we can find you a pretty skirt and we’ll buy ice cream with the rest of the groceries,” Roman motioned with his hand for Patton to follow, and he rushed over and gripped at Roman’s jacket. Roman headed over to a rack of various skirts and flipped through them. He pulled out a red one with a frilly rainbow trim. “How about this one?” He asked, shaking the hanger at him.

“No! More colours!” Patton shook his head vehemently and stamped his feet.

“Okay! My prince wants more rainbow, so he can have _all_ the rainbows,” Roman smiled and slipped the red skirt back on the rack, flicking through the clothes again. He hummed and headed around the rack to the other side. None of these were quite as colourful as the one in the other section. Roman headed over to another rack, followed closely by Patton still gripping on tight.

“I’m not seeing anything, baby,” Roman frowned, looking down at Patton.

“No!” Patton whined and stamped his feet. Roman assumed he was getting tired and bent down to pick him up. Patton held up his arms and wrapped around Roman’s neck with a sad expression plastered on his face. Roman kept moving through the racks, but nothing had more than rainbow accents, even in the dresses.

“This would be much easier in June,” Roman chewed his lip while Patton held on tight.

“There! There!” Patton suddenly bounced and pointed over Roman’s shoulder. Roman turned around and followed where Patton continued to point, bouncing in excitement. Patton was making grabby hands at a rainbow skirt hanging on the clearance rack. Roman picked the pastel skirt with seven colours of chiffon up to check it. Patton beamed in excitement, grabbing at the skirt and playing with the rainbow chiffon ruffles. Roman opened the waist to check the size while Patton played with it excitedly. Sadly, the skirt was a size too small. Roman furrowed his eyebrows for a moment and considered it.

“Grab this part of the waistband for me, will you?” Roman asked and held up the piece he wanted Patton to hold. Patton nodded and took the end of the waistband with a determined expression. “Hold tight!” He requested and stretched out the waistband to see if the elastic had enough give. The waistband looked like it had plenty of room for activities. “You want to buy this one?” Roman asked with a smile and Patton nodded with a massive grin.

“Yes!” Patton pulled the skirt into his arms and squeezed his new rainbow clothes tight to his chest.

“Magnificent. It is all yours, my prince. If we get you a snack, do you think you’ll be okay to finish shopping?” Roman asked, adjusting Patton on his hip and walking back towards the cart.

“You don’t mind?” Patton asked quietly.

“I never mind. How about some grapes?” Roman offered, holding up a finger.

“I like grapes,” Patton nodded happily. “Can we get more fruit punch? Virgil an’ Janus finished it and I wanted another cup,” Patton pouted out his lip again.

“I’ll not only get more fruit punch, but I’ll get you a box of your own to have in the store,” Roman smiled and leaned over to put Patton back in the cart. Patton let go of Roman and sat down in the basket.

“Yay!” Patton raised his arms as he cheered, still holding the skirt. Roman pushed the cart out of the clothing section as Patton swayed happily in the cart, still playing with the chiffon on the skirt and looking pleased. Roman sighed contentedly and headed to the grocery section of the store. “Thanks, Papa!” Patton beamed up at Roman and reached for his abandoned snap-and-click toy in the cart to play with with the skirt still wrapped up in his arms. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> idk guys I was listening to the whole castle playlist and this happened I'm supposed to be unpacking still but there was a strong need for fluff

**Author's Note:**

> Questions, comments, concerns, incoherent screaming, quotes you just liked, and memes all welcome in the comment section below. Even an extra <3 kudos is greatly appreciated! Feel free to throw me a prompt over on tumblr!  
> 
> 
> [Story Discord Server](https://discord.gg/ThcDBSP)
> 
> updates/sanders sides tumblr: [@onthevirgeofdestruction](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/onthevirgeofdestruction/)  
> 
> 
> ♪ [A Whole Castle Playlist](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4Hi79aO3SrlLHzBUzcwyy8?si=4y-7Iw5aRLa1cCT9o7ZSOQ) ♪
> 
> If you would like reading recommendations of my works based on the themes in this one to pass the time between updates, please look no further. Do you want foster to adoption aus? Check out [Dreaming While I Wake](https://archiveofourown.org/works/23748232). Are you feeling that familial communication action, though perhaps more flawed? [Tied in Green](https://archiveofourown.org/works/29616360%22) might hit the spot. Do you want Fluff? Try [Plea for my New Self](https://archiveofourown.org/works/22807720) or the [Other shorts](https://archiveofourown.org/works/24243988)! Are you like, 'Ayri, I need more Anxceit Fluff Specifically, you don't understand!', then try [Eglantine & Lycoris](https://archiveofourown.org/works/26945719) because I do understand. Are you tired of sad children being nice? Do you want your sad children to go feral? Consider [Painful Death for the Lactose Intolerant](https://archiveofourown.org/works/23408695). Do you want more found family fluff & angst with ridiculousness mixed in? You might like [Incorrigble](https://archiveofourown.org/works/27410926). Hope you enjoyed!


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